Daylight's Embrace
by MyTwiDreams
Summary: Bella is quick to agree on "babysitting" her best friend's stepdaughter during the summer, not knowing yet what she's getting herself into /Bellice /AH/Complete
1. Chapter 1

[Disclaimer] SM owns everything Twilight

[A/N]

I love the idea for this story, because I have a thing for relationships with a significant age difference. Don't know if others will like it too, but I guess I'll find out about that soon.

****1****

This is heaven, Bella thought as she savored another spoon full of creamy mouse au chocolate in her mouth. It was delicious. Esme, her best friend was a domestic goddess.

"Please, don't tell me how many calories this contains. It would ruin my day."

"My lips are sealed. Do you want to have more coffee?"

"Yes, I'd love some. Have you packed everything yet?"

"I'll do that tonight when Carlisle is at the hospital. My husband seems to believe that you can go on a four week trip with two pair of jeans and a button down shirt."

"You're going to have so much fun in Paris. I envy you."

"It's not really a vacation. Carlisle is attending this medical congress, I've told you about."

"Carlisle, but not you, sweetie. All you are going to do is visit lovely art galleries and eat yummy food in cute little bistros."

"That's the plan, kind of." Esme told Bella, pouring her friend another cup of coffee. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Maybe I should better stay home though."

"Esme, we've already discussed this. It's just a few weeks. I can handle your husband's teenage brat for a month. I'm good with kids."

"Alice is difficult. The girl hates me. I know she does."

"You're her stepmother. When Charlie married Sue, I didn't give her the light of the day. I thought she was trying to take my mother's place and I couldn't have that."

"I just don't get it. The first two years when she came here after her parents' divorce everything was fine. Then suddenly she started behaving weird and told Carlisle, she'd rather have him visit her in Biloxi instead of coming here to Seattle."

"Puberty turns kids into selfish monsters. Why is she coming here now again? I think I forgot."

"Carlisle talked her into working as a volunteer in the children center downtown during the summer."

"That's nice. Look, you really don't have to worry about a thing. I'll have an eye on the kid and make sure she won't burn down your house or throw wild parties."

"You're an angel. What would I do without you?"

Bella laughed and squeezed Esme's hand. "What would I do without you? You and Carlisle helped me so much during my divorce with—"

"Don't say asshole's name. I'm glad he's gone."

"Sometimes I still miss him."

"I'm going to kick you hard when you say that again. The bastard broke your heart. He let you down when you needed him the most."

The smile on Bella's face froze. She stood up and started stacking the plates on the counter in an attempt to distract herself.

"I remember Alice from when she lived here with her mother. She was such a cute child. Her hair was all curly and she used to have these little ribbons around her little pigtails."

"I don't think eighteen year old wear pigtails these days." Esme told Bella, putting the plates into the dishwasher. "But what do I know? I'm old."

"If you're old that means I'm going to be old in three years. Just for the record, forty is the new twenty, didn't you know that?"

"Where did you read that again?"

"Some magazine, I bought to read before I go to sleep at night."

"Bella, you need to get laid. What happened to the woman from the library? She was so nice."

"Angela? We're just friends. It's better that way."

Esme nibbled her bottom lip. Maybe her friend's romance with the nerdy librarian had just been a phase? After all before that she had been married to a man for almost ten years. She didn't mind, with whom Bella would end up eventually. All she wanted was to see the brunette woman happy again. Bella deserved it after all she had been through.

"I need to leave now. If I don't finish this article I'm working on before tomorrow night, Aro will have my head."

"Your boss is a bloodsucker."

"At least he pays me well. Without that I wouldn't have been able to keep the house."

"I know and it would have ruined my life to lose you as a neighbor. I love knowing you close to me. You're my best friend."

Bella leaned forward and planted a kiss on Esme's cheek. "Thanks, sweetie, you're a darling."

Esme insisted on Bella taking the rest of the dessert with her. Back home in her house, Bella put it in the fridge. She took a bottle of apple juice out and sat down in front of her laptop.

So far she hadn't managed to finish even the first half of her article, re-typing and deleting her words over and over. Maybe a glass of wine would help to boost her creativity? No, it was too early for that, wasn't it?

She lifted the bottle with the juice to her mouth and took a sip. It was cold and sweet, simply delicious.

Bella grabbed her laptop and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, like always ignoring the closed door right next to it. She sat down in the comfy armchair in front of the window and gazed out for a moment.

Esme's garden was so much prettier that her own. She just didn't have the time or patience to plant and water every day. Of course her neighbors could afford hiring some college kids to take care of the flowers and everything. Admiring the lovely daffodils in her best friend's yard, Bella noticed a pair of pale, naked legs between them.

A smile flashed over Bella's face. Carlisle only hired the prettiest girls to work for him. It was a good thing Esme wasn't the overly jealous type. That was probably what had messed up his first marriage.

She took a last look out of the window, delighted by the direct view on a perfectly apple-shaped backside. The young woman was bending down to pluck some of the flowers. Oh yes, I'm definitely bisexual, Bella thought. Maybe she should call Angela again. Or no, better not. Angela was a lovely person, but Bella knew that Angela wasn't interested in superficial affairs. She wanted more. There was a point in Bella's life, when she had been wanting more too. That time was over though…

Later that evening when she had managed to finish her article for Aro, she noticed that she had left her scarf over at Esme's place. It was her lucky charm and she always wore it when she had to present a new project for Volturi News. She believed it made her look sophisticated.

Bella slipped into a pair of flats and quickly brushed through her hair before she rushed down the stairs. A moment later she knocked on Esme's kitchen door.

However, instead of her copper-haired friend, a delicate young woman with tousled black curls opened the door for her.

"Hi there, I'm Bella. Is Esme home?"

"She we-nt to the gro-cery sto-re, but she mu-st be ba-ck soon." The girl stuttered, taking a few steps backwards. She was barefoot, still holding the daffodils she had cut a few minutes ago between her hands.

"Those are lovely, aren't they?" Bella said when the girl walked over to the counter and placed the flowers in a crystal vase.

The girl was pretty. Her face was a bit red from the heat of the midday sun and she had perfectly shaped full lips made for kissing.

Bella could feel her heart-beat beginning to quicken a bit. Too young, she thought, way too young, but a bit of flirting wouldn't do any harm.

"Is this the first time you're working for the Cullen? I hope they pay you well for spending your summer here instead of lying around in the sun. That would be much nicer, wouldn't it?"

In this moment the door was pulled open again, and Esme walked in, carrying a basket filled with vegetables in her arm.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" she called out in surprise.

"Just forgot my scarf here. I can't present my article to Aro without it."

"Good thing, you aren't working for a fashion magazine. That ugly thing should be burned if you ask me."

"You don't get to touch my lucky charm, evil woman." Bella said, quickly grabbing the purple scarf from the kitchen table.

"Well, at least now the two of you have already met. You remember, my stepdaughter Alice, don't you Bella?"


	2. Chapter 2

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I want to thank all my readers for the great response on the first chapter. It makes me happy that so many of you are willing to give this a try, even when some of you are skeptical about the huge age difference. Let's see how this works out. I have fun trying out different things in my stories…

****2****

„Alice, do you remember my friend Bella Swan?"

The girl nodded her head. She sat down on the edge of the kitchen table and rubbed her hands on the material of her shorts. Of course, she remembered Bella. She also remembered the woman's creepy husband. Hadn't her father mentioned that they were separated now? Looking at the beautiful brunette made Alice nervous and she knew it was embarrassing that she felt this way.

"Wow, you've grown up since the last time I've seen you." Bella stated, forcing her eyes to stay on Alice's face and not stare down at her slim legs. Something close to guilt began to form deep inside of her and it made her feel extremely uncomfortable. It was definitely not okay to check out your best friend's stepdaughter like she had done it earlier. Maybe she really should arrange another meeting with Angela. It had been weeks since anyone had touched her at all and spending time with Angela always made her feel better, didn't it?

"It has be-en a wh-ile." Alice pressed out nervously.

"I remember how your mom threw this pool party for you when you turned nine."

"Well, I'm eighteen now." Alice whispered, peeling around on her cuticles. She cleared her throat and turned her attention to her stepmother. "Esme, can we eat now? I'm starving."

"Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Bella, honey, do you want to eat with us? Carlisle is stuck in surgery like usually."

Bella nodded her head. "Sure, I'd love to. Can I help you with anything?"

"You can chop these onions for me. I can never handle that without crying."

"Just because it's you, you know?" Bella chuckled. "I can't endure to see you cry."

"Can I wait in my room until Dinner is ready? I need to finish unpacking my stuff." Alice said her voice sounding a bit too high. It was always like that when she was agitated. At least she had the stuttering under control now. Her mother had sent her to therapists for years until she had finally managed to overcome it. Now it only occurred when she was nervous and nothing made her more nervous than Bella's presence.

"Sure, Alice, I'll call you when everything is ready."

Alice walked off and Bella swallowed a sigh back in her throat when she couldn't manage to look away from the girl's round backside. You're officially a pervert now, she scolded herself. Then she grabbed the onions to peel them.

"Girl is shy." She murmured. "Or maybe she's just tired from the flight here."

"Maybe," Esme said. "Who knows what goes on in a teenager's head?"

Upstairs Alice had placed her clothes neatly on the bed. The closet in the corner was too small but somehow she still managed to stuff everything inside and turn the key around to close it up.

_You've grown up since the last time I saw you_

Bella's words echoed in her ears, making Alice's stomach tingle as if it was suddenly filled with countless butterflies. This was ridiculous. She wasn't thirteen anymore. Crushing on her father's friend was embarrassing and she needed to get over it.

Out of her backpack, she pulled out a picture that she had kept in her wallet for the last years.

Gorgeous, she thought, moving her fingertip over the smile on Bella's face. She's so gorgeous. Alice envied the man standing behind Bella in the picture, his arms wrapped tightly around the petite woman. What would she do to have her look at her, just once, the way she was looking at the bastard?

"Alice! We're ready to eat now!" her stepmother called from downstairs and Alice quickly stuffed the picture back into its usual place.

Her appetite had vanished and so she just shoved the pasta around on her plate a few minutes later.

"Don't you like it?" Bella asked her. "It's probably too much garlic for you."

"No, it tastes good." Alice said quickly, picking up a tortellini on her fork.

"Bella is my best friend. She's going to take care of you, Alice, while your father and I are gone."

"I don't need a babysitter! I'm an adult."

Esme flinched. Great, now the girl was already mad at her again. "It's not like Bella is babysitting you. But you're here all by yourself. It makes your father feel better to know that someone has an eye on you." she explained.

"Sounds pretty much like babysitting to me." Alice whispered, lifting her glass to her mouth.

The phone started ringing and Esme wiped her mouth before she stood up to answer it.

"Hello, Darling. Your passport? Fine, I'll look for it in your office and call you back. Yes, I love you too."

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Carlisle is so messy, it's annoying. Alice, can you please load the dishwasher. I need to search for your father's passport. God knows where he's put it again."

"Yes, Esme, no problem," Alice said. When her stepmother was gone, she turned to Bella. "I really don't need a babysitter anymore. It's unnecessary."

"Relax. I'm not going to watch you twenty-four-seven." I'd like to though, she added silently in her head.

"How's your husband? Is he overseas again?"

"We're divorced. I'd rather not talk about James anymore." Bella said.

"Oh, I'm sor-ry to hear tha-t." Alice stuttered. Bella was divorced? How wonderful!

"No one is sorrier about my marriage falling apart than me. But this is how things are like. Don't get married too soon. It's a mistake."

Alice nodded her head. She put the plates and cutlery into the dishwasher and started it.

"Maybe he just wasn't the one for you."

"Maybe I wasn't the one for him? Who knows what it really is that attracts one person to another. I'm done with love now. Esme is trying to talk me into dating again but I just don't feel like it."

"Hmm,"

"How about you? Do you have a boyfriend back home who's waiting for you?"

"There is no one." Alice whispered. "I'm still single."

"That's sad. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be alone. Well, you'll probably find someone nice soon. I'm sure about that."


	3. Chapter 3

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for the encouraging feedback. It's always risky to start new things and your support helps me a lot.

Bella is thirty-seven in this story and she's openly bisexual. Alice is eighteen and still in the closet. We'll learn a bit more about her crush on Bella in one of the next chapters.

****3****

Bella couldn't remember what she had been dreaming about when her alarm woke her up in the morning. All she knew was that she was slick and warm with arousal between her thighs. Her clit was throbbing, begging for some much needed attention.

She moaned and tossed around on the sheets before she stood up, grabbing some fresh clothes from her closet. Then she pulled the purple-colored vibrator out of her nightstand and made her way to the small bathroom at the other end of the hall.

The warm water cascaded down her body a few moments later. Bella squeezed some body wash over her breasts and massaged it over the soft skin before she tugged gently on the hardened peaks. Her insides quivered when she turned the toy on its lowest setting and pushed it between her inner lips. Back and forth she moved it, rubbing the head of the vibrator from her clit down to her entrance.

For a split second a pair of slim thighs appeared in front of Bella's closed eyelids. She imagined her hands gliding up on the smooth skin to explore it.

_Be-l-la_

Her climax ripped forcefully through her body, making her lose her balance so that she slipped inside the shower.

"Ouch! Damn it!" she called out, rubbing her aching wrist. It was going to bruise but at least she hadn't broken anything. That would have been embarrassing to explain in the E.R.

With a sigh she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She blow-dried her hair and twisted the long tresses into a strict bun in her neck.

After applying her usual make-up she put on her clothes and managed to find enough time to drink a gulp of milk straight from the box before she rushed out of the house. She was too much in thoughts to notice the dainty figure standing in front of the house next to hers when she drove off.

**xxxx**

"Time to face the devil," Bella murmured before she entered her boss's office forty minutes later.

"Isabella," Aro greeted her, a smirk flashing over his sweaty face. She hated the fact that he always used to call her by her full name. Crap, she hated everything about this man. If she wouldn't need the money this job was bringing in for her, she might have told Aro to go fuck himself a long time ago.

"Isabella, my dear, did you finish that article for me?"

Bella nodded her head. She forced the muscles in her mouth into a small smile and placed the folder upon the glass table between her and Aro.

"Let me know if you'd like to have any changes."

"I will, my dear. I will." he murmured, running his fingertips over the rim of his water glass.

She left his office and went to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. Her wrist was still hurting and so she searched for some ice to keep it from swelling more.

"I wouldn't eat anything that's inside this fridge." Someone murmured behind her. "Some of the salads in there are going to start walking soon."

"Good Morning to you too, Edward," Bella said. She put a few ice-cubes in a plastic bag and pressed it against her wrist. Oh yes, this was better.

"Morning, Bella. Did you hurt your wrist? I bet you've been re-typing that article for the boss the whole night."

"Kind of," she whispered, adding some milk into her coffee. "He's probably going to hate it anyway."

"Aro hates everything. Don't make yourself unhappy and take it too personal." Edward stated, following Bella towards her office. She kicked off her shoes and sat down on her chair, turning on the computer.

Edward was leaning against the doorframe, a crooked smile exposing his milky teeth.

"Have you made up your mind about the wedding?" he asked her, closing the door of the office behind him.

"I said I'm going to come and I tend to keep my word."

"What about your date for the special occasion? Are you going to bring that black-haired chick with the glasses?"

"Angela? I don't think so. We broke up again. Well, if you can speak of breaking up when you haven't actually been together."

"Whatever. You can bring someone else with you if you like."

"Whom?" Bella asked back. He sat down on the edge of her table.

"I'll tell Jake to give you a seat on the single table where you can spend the evening with his half-deaf uncle Quil."

"You're an ass, Cullen. Why is Jake marrying you again?"

"It's my eyes…or the rest of my good looks, I'm not completely sure about it."

Bella sipped on her coffee and sighed. "Fine, I'll bring a date with me. For a wedding that is not even legal, you're really pushing my limits a bit too much."

He chuckled and placed the envelope with the invitation in front of Bella before he walked out of the office, whistling cheerfully.

Our journey to find true love ends… God, no, how corny could someone get?

She shoved the cream-colored envelope into the drawer and sipped on her coffee. It was already cold and bitter. Bella hated cold coffee.

A date for the wedding? She wasn't interested in dating anyone right now.

Checking her emails, she noticed that Aro had already sent her a couple of comments on her article. Could this man never be content with anything?

The other email was from Esme, thanking her once again for having an eye on Alice while she and Carlisle were in Europe.

Bella was sure that Esme wouldn't approve of the naughty thoughts her best friend was having about the pretty daughter of her husband. It had to stay a secret. It would stay a secret, Bella tried to convince herself.

Maybe this was just happening because she felt lonely. Wasn't that how her interest in other women had started anyway? Alice was attractive, very attractive to tell the truth but Bella also knew that she was completely off limits for her.


	4. Chapter 4

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Welcome to another update, my lovely readers. Thanks for your reviews. They make me feel loved.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you! I hope, you get to spend some time with the people you love.

****4****

Alice Cullen was a young woman that was good at keeping secrets. From when she was a little child she had always had a tendency to weirdness. It was like she could see things that were going to happen before they actually came true. She never dared to tell anyone about this. Just like she never told anyone about the secret crush she had developed on her father's neighbor.

Isabella Hunter, or how she called herself now, Isabella Swan, was gorgeous. She was strong and confident. Alice heart began to flutter inside her chest whenever she thought about the older woman's full bosom underneath those tight shirts. How would it be like to hold this softness in her hands and feel their tips getting hard as she rolled her fingertips over them?

Fantasies like these kept playing inside of Alice's head over and over. She remembered very lively the first moment when she had started seeing the beautiful brunette in a different light. Her father, Carlisle, had sent her over to Bella's house to return some tools he had borrowed from her former husband.

Alice remembered how she had called inside the house after opening the door with the spare key. When no one had answered her she had walked up the stairs to find Bella dancing half-naked through her bedroom. She had head-phones on, eyes closed and was singing in the most horrible voice underneath the sun.

But it was not the voice that had made Alice shrug back and rush down the stairs again. It was the sudden heat. The tightness in her chest combined with the tingling inside her lower abdomen that spread through Alice when her eyes moved down Bella's backside.

She was checking out another woman. What in heaven's name was wrong with her? It had scared her, especially when she suddenly imagined herself running her tongue slowly down Bella's spine. There was no way this could ever happen. Alice didn't want this to happen. The unknown desires frightened her.

On the way out she grabbed one of the pictures that were lying on the table in the living room. At least she wanted a memory of Bella. It was something that she could look at when her mind began to wander to the impossible – what if?

The years had passed and in Alice's soul the picture of Bella had formed and shaped into something that she could never reach. Bella was an adult woman, one that most likely had never looked at another woman having thoughts that went beyond friendship.

But for now Alice was content with her dreams. Maybe that would have to be enough. One day she could go and start looking for a girl her own age to start a relationship with. It was possible. All that she had to do was get to the point where she was able to dedicate her heart to someone else than Bella.

When the doorbell rang, Alice was just in the middle to treating herself with a bowl of freshly made microwave popcorn and a couple of old movies.

"Hi Bel-l-a," she croaked out, cursing herself for stuttering again. She took a deep breath and smiled nervously. It was a good thing that Bella didn't know how it looked like inside her head.

"Hello Alice. I just wanted to check if you have everything you need. Your stepmother is really worried that you're going to starve while they're gone."

Alice shook her head. "I'm old enough to feed myself."

"I thought so. What's that smell? Are you making popcorn?"

"Wa-nt so-me?"

Bella followed Alice inside the living room. During the entire day at work she had been determined that she would manage to overcome her inappropriate interest in the young girl. Esme was her friend. She had promised her to take care of Alice and that was exactly what she was going to do.

"How was your day?" she asked, taking a handful of popcorn. Alice watched fascinated how Bella lifted one piece of it to her mouth, licking the salt and butter from her fingertips. "God, this is delicious."

Alice sat down next to Bella and hugged one of the pillows tightly against her chest.

"My d-ay was ok-kay."

"You're still stuttering. I thought your dad told me you had some speech therapy to deal with that."

Nibbling on some popcorn, Alice turned on the DVD player and sighed. The stuttering was an embarrassing habit. She had worked so hard to overcome it. Yet, in Bella's presence it was still so difficult.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Bella told her when she noticed the young girl didn't respond anything to her question. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok-ay. I do-n't mind." Alice whispered, moving a bit further away from Bella on the couch. She felt cold, despite the warmth in the room. Had she not turned up the air-conditioning high enough?

"It was rude to point it out. I apologize for that."

Alice nodded her head. "I'm not stupid because I stutter."

"I know. We don't have to talk about it anymore. I feel like I made you feel uncomfortable with my question."

What makes me uncomfortable is my urge to rest my head in your lap right now, Alice thought. She closed her eyes and imagined how it would be like to have Bella feed her with popcorn while they didn't pay attention to the movie playing on the screen in front of them.

"You're very pretty." Bella told Alice, while the girl fumbled around on the remote. "But I bet you already know that."

"Th-an-k yo-u," Alice managed to press out, her cheeks flaming up with heat. Pretty. Bella thought her pretty. "My Mom ha-tes that I cut my ha-ir."

"I think, it's nice the way it looks now."

Bella reached out her hand and took one of the spikey curls between her fingers. Unfortunately this gave Alice a way too tempting look directly into Bella's full cleavage. Alice's eyes widened and she swallowed back a sigh in her throat. Way too tempting, indeed, she thought when Bella stood up and told her goodbye a couple of moments later. A girl could still dream though, couldn't she?


	5. Chapter 5

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back to another update. Thanks for taking the time to read and review my little story. Your feedback means a lot.

Happy New Year to all of you! I feel blessed to have such amazing readers like you by my side.

****5****

Like everyone who can't stop thinking about something forbidden, Bella tried her best to distract herself. She cleaned the house and scrubbed and polished until everything was spotless. Still she couldn't manage to stop her thoughts from wandering to Alice again. The girl was so shy and in a way it reminded Bella a bit of how she had been like herself when she was that age.

With a sigh she walked up the stairs and started pulling out dresses from her closet. There was no use spending money on a new outfit for the wedding. She pulled a simple black silk dress over her head and adjusted it around her hips.

No, black wasn't right for a wedding. She threw the dress on her bed and tried her luck with an orange-colored one. It made her pale skin look a bit greenish.

An idea formed in her mind. She knew what dress she was going to wear to Edward's wedding. Esme had bought a beautiful blue neck-holder dress a few weeks ago. It would look lovely on her when she wore her hair down with it.

Bella knew her friend never minded when she borrowed clothes from her. She put on a pair of jeans and a top before she went over to the Cullen's house.

Alice was sitting in the kitchen, nibbling half-heartedly on a sandwich she had made for lunch. The butterflies in her stomach wouldn't rest. All she could do was think about Bella. Bella's mouth that showed the cutest dimples when she smiled. The full curves of her chest. How would that feel like to hold this softness in her hands and massage it? The thought dampened her panties, making her squirm back and forth on the hard chair.

Her hand moved between her thighs, caressing their insides with just the tip of her fingers. The shrill sound of the doorbell made her stop just before her thumb brushed over the moist fabric of her underwear.

She could feel that her face was glowing with crimson heat when she walked to the door to open it.

"Be-l-la," she stumbled out breathlessly.

"Hello Alice. I'm not disturbing you or anything? I'm just here to borrow one of your stepmother's dresses."

Alice nodded her head and followed the brunette woman silently upstairs where Esme had her walk-in closet. After a few minutes Bella found what she had been looking for.

"Isn't this lovely?"

"It's nice. Are you going to try it on?"

The girl could feel the heat streaming even more into her cheeks when Bella told her yes. She walked out of the closet and waited outside. Alice leaned her face against the cold wall, trying to calm down her nerves. It was embarrassing that she got all agitated. Bella was going to start thinking that she was weird.

"Alice!" Bella called from inside. "Can you just lend me a hand for a second?"

Naked flesh, pale naked flesh was the first thing Alice's eyes captured when she opened the door again.

Bella turned over, holding the straps of the dress over her chest.

"This dress is a bit difficult to put on without help. Can you pull up the zipper for me?"

"Ye-s, su-re," she croaked, stepping behind Bella. She grabbed the zipper between her fingers and for a split second she considered leaning forward and pressing her lips on Bella's bare skin. Alice wanted to run the tip of her tongue up the woman's spine. Would it make Bella shiver if she did that?

Bella's heartbeat increased into a tossing crescendo when she felt Alice's fingers brushing the skin on her back. She wanted to turn around and push the girl behind the shelves behind them. She wanted to have Alice's slim legs wrapped around her waist while her mouth moved down the hollow of the girl's throat.

Hell, she was definitely going to hell, if she didn't manage to stop those thoughts.

"It's closed now." Alice whispered, taking a step backwards.

Bella mumbled a thank you and tied the silk straps in her neck. She took a look at herself in the mirror in the corner, turning from her right side to the left.

"What do you think? It's not too much cleavage, is it?"

Alice shook her head. She wanted to bury her face right between the full mounds of Bella's breasts and die there.

"Alice?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think the dress looks okay on me?"

"You're pre-t-ty. Maybe you should ta-ke a scarf with yo-u in ca-ase you get cold."

"I think I have a nice one back home that will go fine with it. God, I hate dressing up. I'm more like the jeans and t-shirt kind of woman."

She turned around and asked Alice to help her out of the dress again. The girl walked out and Bella quickly put her own clothes back on. For a moment she gazed at herself in the mirror. Not so bad, she thought. All those countless hours Esme had tortured her with attending yoga-classes together were starting to show. Her stomach was flat. Her legs were nicely toned and even without a bra on her breasts still looked good for a woman past her thirty's birthday.

When she walked out of the closet, Alice was leaning against the stair railing.

"What do you need the dress for?" she asked, trying to speak slowly. Her therapist had told her to speak slowly and take deep breaths between each word. It helped with the stuttering.

"A work-mate of mine is getting married to his boyfriend."

"He's getting married to a guy? They're gay?"

"You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Bella asked her. "There is nothing wrong with having a relationship with someone your own sex."

"Yes, y-es, of course." Alice said, almost tripping over her untied shoe-laces on her way down the stairs. "Ha-ve you ev-ver been wit-t-h a wo-wo-man?"

The words left her mouth before she could think about it. When she was too nervous Alice had a tendency to speak out what she thought. Nothing made her more nervous than Bella's presence.

"Well, just once, but it was a very pleasant experience. Her name is Angela. We're still good friends."

"Ju-st fri-en-d-ds?"

Bella smiled and nodded her head, following Alice into the kitchen.

"What's for lunch?"

"I made a sandwich. I'm not good at cooking."

"Sandwich is not a decent meal. Do you want to come over for dinner? I'm making lasagna."

"I love lasagna."

"Great. Esme wouldn't want me to let you eat bread and cereals all the time."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"It's not like that. I just…well, to be honest I just like spending time with you."


	6. Chapter 6

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I have fun writing this little story and I'm grateful for those of you, who enjoy reading it.

Happy 2013 to all my lovely readers out there! Thanks for being so incredibly supportive.

****6****

This is much better, Alice thought after applying an extra layer of eye make-up. She was content that her face looked a bit older now. It was important to her that Bella would understand she was no longer a child. Alice pulled a white sundress over her head and stepped in a pair of flats before she grabbed her keys and made her way over to Bella's house.

Breathe, she reminded herself. Talk slowly. Don't blush. Don't stare at her boobs.

"Hello there. Wow, have you planned on going out after dinner?" Bella asked her, admiring the way the dress hugged Alice's delicate body. Her tanned legs looked smooth against the fabric of the short white dress the girl was wearing.

No, not a girl, she's a woman, a small woman maybe but definitely a woman.

"Is this too much make-up? I just played around a bit."

"You look stunning. Come inside, I'm almost finished with cooking."

Alice felt herself starting to glow with inner excitement. Bella had told her she looked good. Her heart made a little jump in her chest.

"Do you want to have something to drink? I have diet coke and orange juice and—,"

"Can I have some wine like you?" Alice asked, pointing to the glass on the kitchen counter.

"Esme would kill me if she knew I'd let you drink alcohol in my house."

"She's not here."

Bella sighed. "I know. But you're too young to drink anyway."

Alice sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, crossing one leg over the other. Bella saw her as a stupid, naïve child. How embarrassing.

"I'm no-ot a ki-d-d,"

"Getting drunk doesn't make you an adult. Do you like some juice? It's organic. Edward talked me into buying this stuff. It tastes really good."

Bella poured Alice a glass and Alice tried her best not to look too long into the older woman's cleavage.

The lasagna was hot and burned Alice tongue when she carefully put the first bite to her mouth.

"Ohh,"

"Did you burn your tongue? Here, drink something." Bella mumbled, lifting Alice's glass to the girl's pearly shimmering lips.

"Maybe we should wait a few minutes before we eat. This is good though. Do you like cooking?"

"Mostly, it's relaxing to me. I don't have to think when I'm in the kitchen. It's much different from my daytime job."

Alice nodded her head and smiled. It made her nervous to smile at Bella. Maybe because she was worried the woman would find out about her crush. Bella would probably laugh about it.

"So, when does your summer job start?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'm supposed to be there at eight."

"I hope you're going to have a great time. Who knows, you could find someone nice there."

"I don't wa-nt to fin-d-d any-on-ne," Alice stammered out. She had no interest in dating someone. Bella was the only one she was interested in and Alice knew that her love wasn't going to be returned.

"You're so shy. That's cute. When I was your age I was shy too."

"But you're not shy anymore today."

"Depends on with whom I am," Bella stated. "Angela would tell you I was pretty shy when we started dating."

Some unpleasant feeling filled Alice's stomach. She didn't like the fact that Bella had been going out with this Angela woman. Yet, the thought that Bella was at least to some extent interested in her own sex was exciting for Alice.

"Did you lo-ve her?"

"Angela? We've been close. She's a wonderful, caring person."

"Did you love her?"

"I'm not sure. For while I thought I do. Now, I feel like I just wanted to love her because it would have been easy. Angie is nice. She's very different from my ex."

"Because she's a woman?"

"No, I don't think that's the reason. Do you want some more salad?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Maybe I should ask Angela to go to the wedding with me. Edward has threatened to let me sit with some annoying relatives of him and Jake if I show up there without a date."

"I thought you and her are just friends?"

"Ever heard of the term friends with benefits?"

Alice stiffened. Bella couldn't do that, could she? Would she go to the wedding with Angela and end up in some hotel room with her afterwards? Images flashed through Alice's mind. Naked skin, trails of sweat running down between Bella's breasts while she moaned softly. Was this Angela prettier than she?

"Is something wrong? You're not judging, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Alice whispered. I just hate the thought of you having sex with someone. It makes me…I don't know…jealous somehow? She had no right to feel that way. Bella was not her girlfriend.

"I'm not looking for a relationship. I just want to be with someone who makes me feel good. Angie is great. It's just…I think, she'd rather get serious and I don't want that."

"If you ask her to go to the wedding with you, she'll get her hopes up high."

"Probably," Bella said, taking another sip from her wine. "But I don't want to go there on my own."

"I…cou-ld g-o-o wi-t-th you-u,"

"You? Are you sure? There are only going to be old people like me. It will be boring for you."

"You're not old. Will they have a cake?"

"Some gigantic vanilla-cream filled monster in the shape of a castle."

"Good, I like vanilla-cream. Will there be dancing?"

"I think so."

"Then it won't be boring for me." Alice stated with a smile on her face. "I love dancing."

Bella sighed and leaned back in her chair. "You're pretty persistent. How can I say no to that?"

"Great! I need to figure out what to wear. I want to look pretty as your date."

"You'll be pretty, no matter what you'll wear." Bella whispered. She hesitated for a moment before she reached out her fingers and caressed the back of Alice's dainty hand. "You're very beautiful. I can't stop looking at you, no matter how hard I try."


	7. Chapter 7

[Disclaimer] Everything belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for your lovely reviews. I had to reward your support with another update. Hope, you'll enjoy!

****7****

Alice's face was on fire. Her cheeks turned into a bright red, while she tried to calm herself enough to be able to speak. Bella thought her beautiful? Did that mean she found her attractive? The thought thrilled Alice beyond words.

"I'm sorry." Bella murmured as she noticed the girl's silence. She didn't want to make Alice feel uncomfortable with what she had told her. Crap, why could she never manage to think before she spoke? The girl had to think she was some kind of pervert who was lusting after young girls. "Please forget what I just said. That was probably the wine talking through me."

"Why are you sorry?" Alice asked, trying to speak slowly enough so that she wouldn't stutter again. "

"I shouldn't have said that I can't stop looking at you."

"Is it true though?"

Bella filled her glass with more wine and lifted it to her mouth before she answered Alice's question. She was so nervous that her knees began to tremble. There were butterflies in her stomach. How long had it been that she felt like this?

"Do you really like me, Bella? Like…_like_-like me?"

"Yes, I do like you like that." Bella confessed after a moment of silence. "It's wrong though. You're young enough to be my daughter. I feel like a freak for checking you out."

With a big gulp, Bella finished the rest of her drink and stood up from her chair. You're an idiot, she yelled at herself in her head. Why can't you just lie for once in your life?

"Maybe it would be better if you go home now."

"Are you mad at me? You seem angry." Alice whispered, handing Bella the plates so that she could put them into the opened dishwasher.

"Not at you, just at myself." Bella told her.

"Why?" Alice asked, stepping a bit closer to Bella. She handed her another plate and their fingertips brushed against each other for seconds that felt like a little eternity.

Bella closed the dishwasher. She sighed and leaned forward to push one of Alice's curls behind the girl's ear. "This is wrong. I should stay away from you."

"May-be I don-n't want you-u to stay aw-way."

The girl's heart was racing. Images of her and Bella kissing each other flashed through her mind. She knew it was going to happen even before she stood up on her toes and pressed her lips firmly against Bella's mouth.

For a moment Bella stiffened, but Alice's lips felt so soft. She deepened the kiss, pushing her tongue slowly into the younger woman's mouth. This was divine. Her head was telling her to stop but her body was too greedy to stop with what she was doing.

"Alice," she moaned, finally forcing herself to break the contact of their lips. "We can't do this."

"Bu-u-t I like you-u. You're the prettiest woman I know."

"So, you like girls. That's cool. You should be with someone your own age. There are clubs and—"

"I don't want to be with anyone else. I like you."

Bella pulled Alice close again. She wrapped her arms around the girl's small waist and lifted her up on the kitchen counter before she kissed her again. The tip of Alice's tongue moved between her lips, teasing her own until she could feel wetness soaking the fabric of her underwear. When was the last time something as simple as a plain kiss had ignited fire in her like this? Bella couldn't remember.

"You're so sexy," she murmured, running her fingertips gently down Alice's collarbone. "I want to kiss you all over."

Alice pulled back from the kiss. Maybe she should lie to Bella now. If she told Bella that she had never had sex before, she probably wouldn't want her anymore.

"Do you want to stop?" Bella asked when she realized Alice's nervousness. She didn't want to push her into anything she would regret afterwards. Esme would freak enough if she'd find out about the kiss. Her friend had asked her to take care of her stepdaughter, not to try seducing the girl.

"I want to." Alice said. "I really do. I've been thinking about making love with you before."

"Maybe we should try to take things a bit slower? You seem nervous. Have I done something wrong?"

Alice hopped down from the counter and danced through the kitchen. "I've never done it in a kitchen before."

"Same here," Bella mumbled. "Why don't we sit down on my couch for a moment and talk? I don't want to push you into something."

For a while the two of them sat on the couch, their fingertips caressing the other one's hand tenderly while none of them spoke. It was Bella who finally broke the silence.

"So, I like you and you like me. Is that where we stand?"

Alice nodded shyly and squeezed Bella's hand a bit tighter.

"I don't think this is a good idea. You're my best friend's stepdaughter."

"I want to be with you. I'm old enough to choose to be with whom I want to be with."

"I know. But why would you want to be with someone as old as me?"

"I don't care how old you are. You are gorgeous. I admire you so much. I wished I could be like you."

"Sweet girl," Bella whispered, letting her lips flutter over Alice's face. "You don't know what you're saying. This is going to be complicated."

"Because of Esme? I don't care what she thinks."

"I do. She's my best friend. She has been with me when….well, when I was going through some really bad times."

"She doesn't need to know about us."

"I'm not a good liar."

"Like me. But Esme is not going to be here for the next weeks, so, there is no need for telling my stepmom anything."

Bella pulled Alice on her lap and stroked down the girl's back while her lips glided softly over the flushed skin on Alice's throat. "You are thick-headed."

"I'm not. I just know what I want."


	8. Chapter 8

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for your support. It means so much to me that you've decided to give this story a try. I don't know yet how long it's going to be, that depends on a lot of things.

****8****

Bella felt herself beginning to struggle. She wanted Alice. Her body was hungry for exploring the young woman's tight little curves. But beyond that there was some kind of emotional draw towards Alice that was overwhelming her. She could feel that place in her heart that she had closed up for years beginning to open. There was no way she could let this happen. It needed to stay closed, just like that small room next to her bedroom. If she ever entered it again, she would crash into a million of pieces that could not be put together again.

Alice was such a dear girl. She knew nothing about pain. Nothing about what it meant to lose something. For her this was probably just a game.

"Bella?"

"We should not be together." she whispered, circling her fingertip down Alice's throat. "Maybe it would be better if you just went home now."

"What's wrong? Why don't you want me?"

"Of course I want you." Bella told her. "I want to get you out of this dress and kiss every inch of your body."

Alice moaned and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Bella's neck. "Why are you still hesitating?"

"Because this is wrong, I shouldn't take advantage of you."

"You told me I could leave. If I decide that I want to stay, it's my choice." Alice insisted stubbornly.

Bella sighed, the last pieces of doubts melting away from her. She kissed Alice's lips and caressed the bare skin above the girl's cleavage.

"Do you want to go to my room?"

"Yes," Alice whispered. "more than anything."

She took Bella's hand and when the door to Bella's bedroom closed behind them a few moments later, their mouth found each other again.

"Let's take your dress off," Bella said, stepping behind Alice. "I want to see all of you."

Excitement filled Bella. She could feel herself getting moist between her legs. It had been so long since she had anyone up here with her. This was going to be amazing. She was going to make Alice whimper and beg while she made love to her.

Alice could feel heat streaming into her cheeks as Bella reached for the zipper. When her dress fell down to the carpet, she felt like covering herself up. She had never felt so exposed before. Her heart was in her mouth.

"You're just so beautiful. Are you cold? You are trembling." She asked when she felt Alice's arms shaking under her touch. Something was obviously wrong.

"Just ne-ner-v-vous,"

She turned around and stumbled backwards until she felt the bedframe behind her.

"Why are you nervous?" Bella asked, stroking gently over Alice's blushed face. "Have you not been with another woman before? That's okay. We don't have to."

"I want to. I…I've just not done it with anyone yet." Alice finally admitted, staring down at the sheets. Now, the truth was out and she couldn't take it back anymore.

"You're a virgin?" Bella croaked. She felt like a villain, like someone who had lurked an untouched virgin to her bed to seduce her. The thought made her sick. What the hell was wrong with her? "You're a virgin?" she asked again, her voice barely audible.

"No," Alice answered quickly. "No, I w-w-was ju-ust ki-ki-kidding."

"You should not lie to me about something as important like this."

Alice pulled the blanket up and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders. It smelled good, a bit like coconut somehow. "Don't you want me anymore now?"

"I do want you. But you're not ready. Come here and let me hold you."

"I want to have sex with you."

"Your first time should be with someone your own age. You should be in love."

Alice swallowed hard. She wanted to tell Bella how much she was in love with her. She wanted to confess all her feelings to the woman next to her on the bed. She didn't dare to though.

"Maybe I should wait a little bit more."

"That's good." Bella said, kissing Alice's forehead. "God, you're too cute to be real."

"How old were you when you had your first time?"

"Sixteen."

"Were yo-u in lo-lo-ve?"

"I married him later, so there must have been some kind of love."

"But you're divorced now."

"I am." Bella whispered. "When a love ends that doesn't mean there wasn't any love at all. Some loves are just not meant to be forever."

She sighed and kissed Alice's lips. "You should get dressed and go home. It's late."

"Can't I stay here with you tonight?"

Bella shook her head and explained that she needed to work a little more on one of her articles. It was a white lie. The thought of having Alice's breasts pressed against her back all night long was too tempting. The girl was off limits for her, even more now that she knew how innocent she was.

When Alice walked out of her bedroom a very unpleasant feeling rushed through Bella. It was a strange combination of guilt and loneliness.

After an entire hour of tossing around on the sheets, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand.

"St. Thomas Library, this is Angela speaking."

"Hi there, I think I still have a book that I need to return."

"Bella! That's so nice that you're calling. I was just thinking about you."

"What exactly,"

"I can't tell you, there are other people around this place. How have you been?"

"Okay, I guess."

"We should have coffee together one time. Are you free in your lunch break tomorrow?"

"It's not a date, Angela."

She laughed into the receiver. "I know it's not a date. We're just friends."

"We saw each other naked. I think that makes the friendship part a bit complicated."

"We shall see. I'll pick you up at your office. Good night, Bella."

Bella sighed and closed her eyes. This was the right thing. She needed to find a way to get Alice out of her head. Maybe Angela could be her key to that.


	9. Chapter 9

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for your reviews. Your feedback means everything to me.

****9****

"You're looking good today." Angela stated while she licked off a bit of cream from her spoon. It had thrilled her that Bella had called. She had developed a great affection for the brunette and would love nothing more than to deepen their previous affair. Bella had told her that she wasn't interested in a relationship but Angela Weber was a very patient woman. Maybe Bella just needed a bit more encouragement.

"I like your hair. It's beautiful."

"Thanks," Bella murmured, taking a bite from the chicken sandwich in front of her.

She had spent a lot of time in her bathroom this morning, straightening her hair and carefully applying her makeup. There was an unpleasant feeling of guilt in her heart. Why was she feeling that way? Nothing had really happened with Alice and that was a good thing. It had been the right thing to pull back and send her away, hadn't it?

"You seem like you're not really here." Angela said, placing her hand gently on Bella's. "Tell me what's on your pretty mind."

"Nothing really." Bella said, adding another piece of sugar into her green tea. For a moment she hesitated but the urge to talk to anyone about the inner turmoil she felt at the moment was overwhelming. "I just met someone recently."

"Male or female?"

"She's pretty much female. But…I don't think it would work between me and her."

Angela sighed and lifted her caramel topped cappuccino to her lips. Maybe Bella had been serious about the whole friendship thing? Would that be enough for her?

"Where did you meet her?"

"Friends," Bella croaked nervously. "We kind off know the same people."

"That's good. It gives you some common ground to build on." Angela mumbled, running her fingertip over the edge of her cup.

"I'm not looking for a relationship."

"You're scared to give love another chance. That's probably normal after what you've been through."

"It has nothing to do with James."

"I'm not talking about your ex-husband." Angela told her. "It's just…I've…well, you know where I work. I saw the books you've been reading during the last years. I'm sorry about—"

"Are you a fucking stalker now? What I read is none of your business."

"What happened to you is horrible, but you can't shut yourself up forever."

"You know shit." Bella snarled, jumping up from her chair. "Why are bringing this up now?"

"Because I think that it's the reason why you don't want to let anyone come close to you."

"It's not. I just don't want to have a relationship. I've never been single since I was sixteen years old. I deserve to have some fun."

"What is with love? Don't tell me that you don't need love. We all do."

xxxx

Alice yawned while she stood in the kitchen of the children center and chopped some vegetables. She had cried herself to sleep last night. It had hurt her how Bella had sent her away. If she had only lied about being a virgin, everything would have turned out fine.

Her heart cramped. Was this how it was like to get your heart broken?

"Don't cut your finger." a deep voice startled her from behind. "You wouldn't want a band aid with little balloons on it."

"I hate cooking. Why do I have to work here?"

"Because you're new, Gidget."

"My n-n-name is A-a-alice."

"Whatever, Gidget." he chuckled. "Hi, I'm Jasper."

He took her hand to blow a kiss over her knuckle. "Welcome to St. Volturi. We can need every help here that we can get."

"I want to work with kids. Cooking is boring."

"Well, the kids need to eat something too. Let me help you."

She pushed the onions over to him. Cutting those always made her eyes burn. He hummed and started slicing the first onion. The sharp scent instantly brought tears into Alice's eyes. When the last pieces of onions landed in the bowl in front of them, her mascara was smeared down her cheeks.

"There is no need to cry, Gidget."

"I'm n-n-not cr-cr-crying. It's just the onions."

"Oh, I see. Want to take break? I'm dying for a smoke."

Alice wiped her face with a tissue and blew her nose. It was rare that she got along well with people her own age. She was shy and when people made fun of her stuttering it usually didn't get better.

Outside, Jasper leaned against the stairs and pulled a crumpled package of cigarette's out. He held it up to Alice who quickly shook her head.

"I don't smoke."

"Good choice. So, this is how you're planning on spending your summer, standing in the kitchen and cry? Let me guess, your parents force you to work here?"

"No."

"Lucky you that means you can quit when you feel like it."

"I'm not a quitter."

He took a drag on his cigarette and blew a ring of smoke towards Alice. "Does your boyfriend like you working here?"

"I don't have a boyfriend." She told him, sitting down on the stairs.

"I thought so. Do you want to go out on Saturday?"

"I can't. I'm going to a wedding on Saturday."

Alice hoped that Bella would still want her to accompany her to the wedding after last night. She had been looking forward to dance with Bella. It would be amazing.

"A wedding, hmm? I don't care for that kind of stuff. My parents got divorced last year. It was ugly."

"My parents are divorced too. I still like weddings. They're so romantic."

"You're too naïve, Gidget. I'll head back inside now. Stop dreaming and see the world like it really is."

With that he walked off, leaving Alice alone on the stairs next to the trash cans. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Was she really naïve? Visions of Bella pushing her back against the wall in her bedroom entered her mind. She could almost taste the wine on Bella's mouth while she replayed the scene over and over again. There had to be a way to make Bella love her. Alice just had to figure out how to reach her goal.


	10. Chapter 10

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back my lovely readers. Thanks for your reviews. I'm happy for having such awesome readers like you.

**FAQ's**

Was Bella raped?

No, - Bella is not a victim of sexual assault in this story. I would have put up a warning on the first chapter if I had planned to use that.

What's with the Gidget nickname Jasper is using on Alice?

It's from the movie Gidget. G=Girl & Midget. You should watch it some time. It's so cute. I love Sandra Dee.

****10****

Bella took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. She could just have used the key Esme had given to her, but that seemed wrong to her somehow.

"Hi," Alice pressed out when she opened the door a moment later. "Are you here to fulfill your babysitting duties again?"

"Hello Alice. Can I come inside for a moment?" Bella asked nervously.

Alice nodded and walked into the living room where she instantly turned her attention to the tv screen again. Her new strategy was going to be to ignore Bella as much as she could. Maybe that would increase Bella's interest in her. Things like that did work out, didn't they?

"Are you angry at me about last night?"

"No,"

"Well, you're acting like you are. Look, I didn't mean to offend you by sending you home. I was just trying to do the right thing."

Hesitantly she leaned forward to let her fingertips move gently over Alice's forearm.

Warmth instantly began to fill Alice's heart. Bella had come for her. Now, if she only knew how to react properly.

"Would you like m-me b-b-better if I wasn't a v-v-virgin?"

"No, Alice, I don't think so. But you're too young for me. It's not going to work."

"You c-c-can't know t-t-this. Maybe we'd be happy together."

She dropped the remote to the ground and stood up to place both arms around Bella's waist. "I r-r-really l-l-like y-you."

"Oh sweet girl, you don't know what you're getting yourself into." Bella whispered before she lowered her head to kiss Alice's mouth. Why was it so difficult for her to let her mind lead her decisions? Maybe it was because she had tried to shove those feelings away for too long.

"I'm here because of the wedding." she finally managed to tell Alice when she broke the kiss.

"Don't you w-w-want me to g-g-go with you?"

"Of course, I still want you to come with me. I brought you something that you could wear to it. I saw it and just had to buy it."

"You bought me a dress?" Alice called out in surprise.

"I can bring it back if you don't like it." Bella said, pulling the sleeveless purple colored dress out of the plastic bag. "I just thought purple would look good on you."

Alice sniffed. This had to mean something, right? Bella didn't need to buy her a dress but the fact that she did proved that she really wanted her to go to the wedding with her.

"I-l-l-love y-t-the d-d-dress,"

Bella smiled. It was great how easily Alice was accepting her apology. She held the dress up and suggested that Alice should go upstairs and try it on.

The dress was tight, exposing a generous amount of the young girl's tempting legs. Those legs were Bella's favorite part so far. She wanted to run her fingers very gently up there insides until she would feel the fabric of Alice's underwear against her fingertips.

"Do I look okay?" Alice asked, turning around in front of Bella. "Not too short?"

"You're lovely and it's not too short. You are young and have the figure for it."

Alice kissed Bella's cheek and rushed back up the stairs to put the precious dress into her closet. Then she stepped back inside her shorts and her shirt.

"Thank you for the dress. It's so pretty."

"You're welcome. I'll pick you up at ten. Let's see how you like it with all the old people."

"Stop saying that you're old, it's not true."

Bella chuckled. She sat down on the couch and crossed her legs. "So, how was your first day at St. Volturi? You did start today, didn't you?"

"O-o-okay, I think."

"That doesn't sound like you liked it very much." Bella said. She wanted to wrap her arm around Alice but she hesitated. Slow, she reminded herself, try to go slow. Maybe then this physical attraction will vanish.

"They made me work in the kitchen. That's awful. I volunteered to work there because I like kids."

"Maybe you should tell them you'd rather do something else."

"The guy who's teaching me everything said that all the new ones start in the kitchen. I hate him. He's an asshole."

"It can't be that bad. If you don't like the center, I can help you find another job for the summer."

"No, I promised Dad I'll do this volunteer thing. It will help with getting me into a good College."

"What do you want to do when you're finished with school?"

"Preschool teaching, at least that's the plan for now."

Alice took Bella's hand and rubbed her thumb over the other woman's pulse point. "I didn't like how you sent me home last night."

"I know, Alice. I'm sorry about that. I didn't know what to do after you told me you're a virgin."

"I should have lied."

"No, you shouldn't. A girl's first time is important. It's supposed to be special."

She lifted her hand and brushed one of Alice's curls out of her forehead. "All you know about sex is based on fantasies. Reality is not like that."

"B-b-but I want to know how it's like. I w-w-want to know h-h-how it's like w-w-with y-y-you."

"Oh Alice," Bella breathed. She could feel her heartbeat speeding up as her lips pressed softly against Alice's. Her tongue flattered over the girl's bottom lip, teasing it to open up. This was like heaven. It made her feel alive in a way that she had almost forgotten about. She still needed to make sure Alice really wanted this.

"Are you sure you want this with me? Maybe you should wait until you fall in love with someone."

"No," Alice whispered, letting her tongue glide over Bella's throat. The skin tasted like salt there. She liked it. "I want to do it with you."

"Why?"

Because I love you and you're the one for me, Alice yelled in her head. Then she could feel her lips curling into a bright smile. "Y-y-you h-h-have experience, I'd rather have my first time with someone who knows what she's doing."


	11. Chapter 11

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back my dear readers. I'm terribly nervous about this chapter. It was difficult for me to write. I hope you'll still stick with me when you've finished reading it. Thanks for your support.

****11****

There was fire. Bella could feel it spreading slowly through her veins as she felt Alice's fingertips moving underneath the hem of her shirt. She moaned and pulled the girl closer against her own body. There was still that reasonable part in her head that kept yelling at her how wrong this was, but she ignored it. Alice had assured her she wanted this. She had given the girl a choice to tell her no, not once but several times.

"Do y-y-you like this?" Alice whispered before she let her thumbs circle over the tips of Bella's breasts. Through the fabric of thin lace she could feel the nipples getting hard when she continued to rub them gently. "Am I doing this r-r-right?"

"Yes…it feels good. Let's get you out of this shirt. Shall we?"

Bella pulled the shirt over Alice's head. Then she lowered her head and kissed the skin above Alice's bra. Her tongue moved gently over the soft pale flesh before she tugged on the stripes of the bra to pull it down.

"You're beautiful," she hummed, cupping Alice's breasts in her hands. "so fucking beautiful."

"Bedroom?" Alice managed to bring out before she felt Bella's lips against her mouth.

"Are you sure you want this?" Bella asked breathlessly when she pulled back. She needed to be sure Alice wanted to have sex with her. For a moment memories of her own first time rushed through her mind. It had been awkward. It was nothing like the romantic fantasies of flower petals on the sheets that she had wished for. She remembered James grunting on top of her and the thought left an unpleasant bitterness in her mouth. He loved her. He might not have been more than a stupid seventeen year old boy who had barely a clue which part went where but he had loved her. That much she was sure of.

"I w-w-want y-y-you." Alice told Bella. Her heart was hammering against her ribs. She had never before been so excited and aroused in her life. There was a pulsing between her legs. She was wet, the fabric of her underwear sticking to her untouched pussy. Yes, she wanted this. She had fantasized about doing it with Bella for so long now.

"You are trembling. Are you very nervous?"

"N-n-no,"

"Sweet girl, you don't have to lie about being nervous. That's normal." Bella placed one finger under Alice's chin. "We'll just go slowly. If I do anything that you don't like you just tell me to stop, no matter when, okay?"

For a moment both of them were too focused on each other to hear the sound of the doorbell. Then it was supported by a fist hammering against the door.

"Isabella! I know you're home! Your car is in the driveway."

"Crap," Bella hissed through her teeth. She jumped from the couch and quickly tried to adjust her clothing as good as possible.

"Put your shirt back on. Oh crap, crap, crap. Just wait in the kitchen. It will only be a second. I'll tell him to leave."

"ISABELLA!"

"Coming!" she called, taking a deep breath before she rushed towards the door. It had been months since the last time she had seen her ex-husband. What the hell was James doing here now?

"Hi," he greeted her. "I just considered whether to break a window to get inside."

"Your lawyer can call mine if you need to discuss anything. This house is my home. If you break in, I'll call the cops on you."

"Don't be like this now. I was worried you could have harmed yourself."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "I won't. You don't need to worry about that anymore."

He leaned forward to touch her face but she stepped back to bring a bit more physical distance between the two of them.

"Why are you here, James?"

"I'm here to get some stuff." He told her, entering the house. "Oh, I see you've painted the living room new. It looks good."

"James, please, I don't want you here. What do you want? I don't have any more of your shit in my closet."

"I'm here for the clothes my mother gave you for Marissa,"

"L-l-leave her alone." Alice snarled at him. "S-s-she t-t-old you t-t-to leave."

"Don't swallow your tongue, girl. You might need it in the future."

His eyes moved up and down on Alice's body. What a looker, he thought, licking his bottom lip.

"Who are you, Missy?"

"She's Carlisle's daughter, Alice. You remember her, don't you?"

He nodded his head. "Can I get the clothes now?"

"No way," Bella pressed out. How could he just show up here and demand something so horrible from her? Didn't he have a heart at all?

"Look, I know this is difficult for you. But those clothes have belonged to my family for generations. Mom wants them for one of my cousin's babies."

"Get out here! The next time you'll show up here, I'll have you arrested. Get the fuck out of my house, Hunter!"

Her voice cracked and when she grabbed the next best thing her hand could reach she threw it against the wall behind James' head. "Leave!"

"Isabella, pull yourself together. It has been three years now. We need to move on. Maybe you should—"

"M-m-maybe you should leave now. You're making her cry." Alice told him, placing her arm around Bella's quivering shoulder.

He sighed and walked out, turning around on the doorstep. "I'll call you tomorrow. Maybe you should try to get some counseling. It could help you."

Bella slammed the door behind him and collapsed on the floor. She sobbed and could feel all the wounds that she had tried to ignore so successfully for the last months ripping open again.

"I h-h-hate him. Bella, p-p-p-lease don't cry. He's gone."

"Go home, Alice. I want to be alone now."

"No. I'm not leaving you here like this. You are a mess. Who is Marissa?"

"Was," Bella whispered huskily while she tried to stand up again. She didn't want to talk about these horrible things with Alice. All she had wanted for the last three years was to find a way to forget.


	12. Chapter 12

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for your reviews. I feel blessed to have such amazing readers.

****12****

Alice managed to maneuver Bella over to the couch. There she wrapped a blanket around her and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Do you want some tea?" she asked while her fingers stroked gently over Bella's hand.

"You can leave. I don't want you to see me like that."

"I've seen people cry before. It's nothing I can't handle."

She walked off to the kitchen and searched the cabinets until she found some herbal tea and two mugs. It was obvious that Bella hadn't taken her divorce very well. Alice was angry about how upset the shithead had made her feel.

"Here's your tea, Bella." she told her in a cheerful voice. "You have to be careful. It's still hot."

"Thanks," Bella croaked. "You don't have to take care of me. It's unnecessary."

Alice shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Are you sure that Esme is just your stepmother? You remind me of her when you're so…caring."

"I don't know. I never spent much time around my stepmom. She doesn't really like me."

"That's nonsense. Maybe she just doesn't know how to act around you. She's always concerned about doing anything wrong."

Bella sipped on her tea and enjoyed the warmth that slowly filled her body. As much as she wanted to be alone she was more than glad Alice had refused to leave.

"Your ex is creepy. You shouldn't let him inside if he shows up again." Alice told Bella, cuddling against her side. "What did he mean with the clothes thing?"

"I…I can't talk about this. It's too painful."

"But m-m-maybe it w-w-would help you if you talked about it."

Bella sighed and leaned a bit closer against Alice's body. "Are you sure that you're just eighteen?"

"I think that's what my ID said the last time I checked it. Now, tell me what's wrong with you. I don't like you being sad."

"James and I," Bella started after taking another deep breathe. "We had a baby. Marissa. She was…oh my god…she was so cute. We've waited forever until I finally got pregnant and everything was so perfect. She was our little princess."

Alice's fingers tightened around Bella's hand. Bella had a child? Why didn't she know about this? "Do you have a picture?"

"Upstairs in her room, but I can't go there. It would kill me to enter that room ever again."

"What happened to the baby? Was she sick?"

"No, she wasn't. I put her down to sleep one night and when…I…wanted to wake her up to breastfeed her, she was…she…wasn't breathing anymore."

Alice could feel a sharp cramping within her chest. This was bad. This was nothing that could be fixed somehow. She didn't know what to tell Bella. There weren't any words that could comfort her. So, Alice just held her arms around Bella until the sobbing finally subsided and both of them drifted into some deep sleep.

xxxx

When Bella opened her eyes a couple of hours later it took her a few moments to realize where she was. Her muscles felt uncomfortably stiff because she had been lying on her side the whole time.

"Alice? Why are you still here?"

"W-w-what?" the girl asked, blinking through her eyelashes. "Is it morning yet?"

"Almost," Bella mumbled, sitting up straight. "The sun is about to rise. You should go outside and have a look. It's beautiful."

"Hmm. Will you join me?"

They walked outside and Bella pulled the blanket she had taken with her around Alice from behind. "Your hair looks like a little bird's nest. It's cute."

"Are you feeling better now? I mean…that's probably a stupid question to ask."

"No, it's not. I don't know how I feel now. It's okay as long as I don't think about Marissa. James is an asshole. I will never give any of her clothes back to his stupid mother."

For a while both of them watched silently how the sky in front of them turned from grey and purple to a bright warm orange color. A new day was being born.

"It's too cold. We should get back inside or do you want to go home now?"

"Are you trying to g-g-get rid of me?"

"No, I'm not. I just thought you might want to catch a bit more sleep and take a shower before you have to head to work today."

Alice nodded her head. "You c-c-could s-s-shower with me if y-y-you want to."

"Such a little tease, you really shouldn't say stuff like that to me. It makes me all tingly."

She kissed Alice and pulled her back inside the house with her. Her fingers moved down Alice's shirt and caressed the girl's flat stomach with her fingertips.

"You're so sexy. I want to touch every inch of your skin. Come with me."

Their clothes landed all over the stairs and when they had reached the bathroom both of them were wearing nothing more but their underwear.

"Open my bra." Bella whispered. "Give me your hands. The clasp is in the front. It's a bit tricky."

"Y-y-you have beautiful breasts." Alice stated, running her hands all over the soft mounds. She could feel their tips getting hard. Would Bella like it if she put her mouth on them and sucked gently? She decided to give it a try.

Hot water cascaded down on them a few moments later as they stepped underneath the shower. Bella whimpered softly when she felt Alice's lips closing around her left nipple. This felt good.

Alice could feel her herself beginning to throb between her legs. She moaned when Bella started to rub some vanilla scented body wash all over her body. Her nipples tightened under Bella's tender touch and she wanted to feel Bella's finger lower but when she had just managed to bring up the courage to speak the words, Bella already pulled her out of the shower.

She closed her eyes as Bella started to dry her off with a warm towel. "I want you so much. Let's take this to my bedroom."

Bella's heart was throbbing with excitement. She was eager to touch Alice more intimately. She wanted to taste the girl's arousal on her tongue. The thought of licking Alice's pussy made her skin tingle all over.

"Lie back and relax. You're going to enjoy this."

I am going to enjoy this, Bella thought as she parted Alice's thighs. She stroked the soft skin of their insides for a couple of moments until she couldn't hold back any longer.

With a groan she pressed her lips against Alice's bare sex. She could taste the slick essence on the tip of her tongue as she started circling it up and down.

"Fuck…Bella…oh fuck…fuck…,"

Bella smiled against the girl's clit before she blew softly over the pulsing little pearl. Again and again she swirled her tongue around it. Her right hand moved between her own legs. She could feel how she was getting close, so close.

Alice's body began to quiver. The muscles in her pussy were throbbing. This was so much better than when she had rubbed herself to a release under her blankets. Bella's tongue felt so good. It was divine.

She tensed for a moment when Bella's middle finger entered her slowly.

"So…tight, you're so tight and hot here. I'm not going to hurt you. Try to take deep breaths. It will help you to relax more."

Bella's finger moved around inside of her pussy. Alice loved the sensations floating through her. The combination of Bella's soft tongue flattering against her clit and her finger pushing inside of was overwhelming. Just when she felt her insides beginning to pulse with the beginning of her climax, Bella pulled back.

"D-d-don't s-s-stop," she pleaded, fisting her hands into Bella's damp tresses of brown hair.

"Never," Bella whispered, kissing her way up Alice's chest. Alice groaned when Bella's mouth touched hers and she could taste own wetness on the woman's lips.

She groaned when she felt Bella's moist sex rubbing against her own. Instinctively she lifted her hips. She needed to have Bella closer, maybe even closer than her own skin.

"Yes, like this…move with me, sweet girl. I want to make you come like this."

Bella's orgasm ripped throughout just moments before Alice climaxed strongly underneath her. She could feel the girl's pussy pulsing against her own as she collapsed breathlessly.

"Oh B-B-Bella," Alice sobbed and the sound of the girl crying made Bella's chest tighten unpleasantly. Had she hurt her? Was she regretting that they had done it?

"I'm sorry. God, Alice, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No…it's just…it…w-w-was so g-g-good."

"Why are you crying then?"

"B-b-because it's o-o-over now. I d-d-don't want it t-t-to be over."

Bella kissed Alice's face and pulled the girl tightly against her chest. There was an inner peace inside of her that she hadn't felt for a very long time.

"Sweet girl, nothing is over here. This is just a beginning."


	13. Chapter 13

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Thanks for your lovely reviews. You make me feel loved.

****13****

"You're late, Gidget." Jasper told Alice when she entered the kitchen of St. Volturi. "Morning shift starts at nine-sharp."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She said, pulling the sleeves of Bella's shirt over her elbows. It looked more like a dress on her, especially with the belt she had wrapped around her waist. On her throat was a cute little scarf to hide the red marks on her neck. The love-making had been incredible. It was way better than any fantasy she could have come up with. Would Bella want to do it again with her soon? She really hoped that—

"Stop dreaming, Gidget. You can start cutting these apples into slices. We're going to make some cake for later. Do you know how to bake?"

"Can't I get another job here? I could read some stories to the kids or—,"

"Gidget, in this place you're going to do what I tell you and when I tell you to. Now, start with the apples. Be careful not to cut yourself. No one wants an accident."

"Why are y-y-you an a-a-asshole to me? That w-w-was just a q-q-question."

He smirked and sat down on a chair next to Alice. "You're such a feisty little thing. It's hot."

Alice rolled her eyes and moved a bit further away from him. "I don't like you at all. You're a t-t-tyrant."

"You're breaking my heart, Gidget. I can be sweet, if you let me be. Do you want me to be sweet to you?" He leaned over to her to blow softly against her ear. "You and I could have so much fun while you're here."

"I w-w-want you to leave me the f-f-fuck alone. I'm not interested in you. And for the last t-t-time now, my name is Alice and not G-g-gidget."

Jasper shoved an apple over to Alice and grinned. "Well, then I hope you'll get used to cutting vegetables and scrubbing dirty pans. You won't be doing much more this summer. I have all the power here."

Enough was enough. Maybe her father would be mad at her for quitting her summer job on the second day. Still she wouldn't spend every day for the next four weeks around this creeper. She jumped up from her chair and dropped the knife on the table.

"I'm out here."

With that she rushed out, managing it barely to her car before she burst into tears. What an asshole. How could he be so mean to her?

Alice had no idea what to do now and after sobbing silently for a few minutes, she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She didn't know if Bella would like it if she showed up at her workplace, but when she started the engine of her car, she was determined to give it a try. Alice was not good at being alone when she was upset.

xxxx

Bella leaned back in the leather chair in her office. Like always when she had sex the morning before work her mood was excellent. Alice was a good lover. She was inexperienced yes definitely, but so very eager to learn and so hungry for her touch. The memory made Bella instantly damp between her thighs. She wanted to know how it would feel like to have Alice's tongue against her clit. Inhaling deeply through her parted lips, Bella forced herself to stop her thoughts. She needed to concentrate now.

Aro had given her a new article to work on and so far everything was going smoothly with it. He was going to find a dozen mistakes in it anyway when she was going to show it to him. That man could never be satisfied with anything.

Her phone started beeping and she picked up after slurping on her milkshake. She had developed a craving for those during her pregnancy that had never vanished completely.

"Swan,"

"Bella, there's some girl here to see you. Her name is Alice Cullen." Aro's secretary Gianna told her. "Should I send her up to your office?"

"Yes, that would be nice. Thank you, Gianna."

Bella sighed when she dropped the receiver down. What was Alice doing here? She walked out of her office, towards the elevator.

"Finishing early today, Bella?" Edward asked her, looking up from the copier. "Did you manage to get a date for tomorrow?"

"Kind of," She told him, stepping nervously back and forth on her heels.

The elevator opened and Bella felt an unpleasant tightening in her chest when she saw that Alice had been crying. The girl was probably regretting the hot make-out session the two of them had this morning. Young people were like that sometimes.

"Hi Alice, how are you? Shouldn't you be at that children center now?"

"I'm never going back there!"

"Shhh, don't cry. Come with me." Bella whispered softly. She pulled Alice into her office and made her sit down. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Alice sniffed but when Bella wrapped her arms around her, she instantly felt a bit better.

"I'm never going back there. Dad will be so angry."

"Breathe, Alice and please stop crying, it makes me want to cry with you. Tell me what's wrong."

"That g-g-guy who's training me is an asshole. He said I won't get another job apart from kitchen work if I won't let him get lucky with me."

Anger spread through Bella. How could someone be so mean and take advantage of someone as sweet and innocent as Alice? She wanted to rip that moron a new one. "Did he touch you?"

"Not really, but I think he wanted to."

And I would like to cut off his dick, Bella thought angrily. "It's good he didn't grope. Because elsewise I'd let you press charges against that bastard for molesting you."

"This is embarrassing. I don't know what I've done wrong."

"Honey, you've done nothing wrong. This is his fault and not yours."

She leaned down and kissed Alice's mouth. "Let me handle this. I bet that idiot won't make any problems if I show him where his place is."


	14. Chapter 14

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back to another update. Thanks for your support for my little story here.

****14****

Bella didn't like going to places where she knew that children would be around. It was too painful, especially when she ran into a kid that was the same age Marissa would be now. She took a deep breath and gave Alice's hand an encouraging squeeze before they stepped out of the car.

When they entered the building Bella could hear several light voices laughing. Her heart cramped. Just try to ignore it, she told herself. How will that look if you get a crying fit now?

"Ma'am, can I help you?" Jasper asked, looking up from a children's book he was reading to two little boys. "Oh hi, Gidget, I knew you'd come back."

Bella stepped in front of Alice and snarled. "I'd like to talk to your boss."

"Are you the mother of one of the kids with lice? I swear to you that we're not responsible for—,"

"I'm not a mother." she stated, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. "Is your boss here today? It's important."

"I'm sure I can help you with everything you need. Maria is pretty busy."

"Pretty busy is she. How nice. Well, if she's unavailable I talk to you. Listen, Mr….ahm…,"

"Whitlock, Ma'am, my name is Jasper Whitlock."

"Mr. Jasper Whitlock, are you familiar with the term sexual harassment?"

"Are you from the police? I didn't do anything."

His eyes moved to Alice and she instantly took another step backwards. This was embarrassing for her. She could feel her knees beginning to tremble.

"I want to know why you think it's acceptable to molest one of your volunteers. She told you she's not interested in you. I hate men like you who are too stupid to grasp the meaning of the word no. I should let you get fired. You'd deserve it."

"Ma'am, she's lying. I never touched her. This is just some big misunderstanding."

Bella shook her head. "I'm sure the press would be very interested in this. Sexual harassment is something people like to read about. This place here is paid by the citizens of this town. That means I am paying your worthless ass. Correction, I paid. You won't keep this job. People like you should not be around kids."

"Maria won't fire me because of some stupid rumors."

"Well, I'm sure she won't like me to take this to the press. No one is going to donate money to a place where their kids get lice and the female employees get molested."

With that she turned around, pulling Alice with her. They were almost out of the door when a little girl with blonde curls tugged on Bella's shirt.

"My doll lost her head. Can you help me find it?"

Bella could feel her head starting to spin. She couldn't endure being around little children. How old was this girl? Three perhaps? Just like her Marissa. She had bought so many dolls for her when the doctor had told her she was expecting a girl. No one would ever play with those…

"Please!"

"I'll help you search." Alice told the girl. "Where did you lose it?"

"Sandbox,"

"I'm sure we'll find her head again. Come with me."

"Alice, we need to leave. I need to go back to my office." Bella told Alice while she followed her and the little girl into the garden behind the house.

"It won't take long. I'll just help her to find the head of her doll."

"I'll wait in the car." Bella whispered, her voice cracking nervously. She rushed off and when she reached her car the tears were streaming down her face. Maybe James was right with the therapy thing. She was trying so hard to forget what had happened but it was impossible for her.

"Bella? Why are y-y-you crying?" Alice asked when she entered the car a few minutes later.

"Because I'm stupid," she sniffed, pulling out a tissue. Alice wrapped her arm around Bella and rubbed her back. "You're not stupid. W-w-what you did w-w-with Jasper was awesome. Y-y-you're my hero."

Bella sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I don't feel like a hero. But let's not talk about me now. You were good with that kid. Maybe you should try to find a job in a kindergarten or something like that."

Starting the engine of her car, Bella could feel Alice's small fingers moving up and down her forearm in gentle caress.

"It's because of your baby, isn't it? All the children in there made you feel uncomfortable, right? I'm sorry."

"Please, stop asking. I can't talk about this. I just can't."

Alice sighed. She thought it would be way better for Bella if she didn't try to keep her feelings to herself. But what did she know about losing a child? After a few minutes of listening to the radio in silence, she finally decided to change the subject of their conversation to something lighter.

"So, the wedding is tomorrow. When are you going to pick me up? I need to be ready with my hair and everything."

"Your hair is pretty the way it is. I like when it's all wild and curly, suits you well."

"Thanks. I want to look n-n-nice for you. Crap, I didn't think of buying them a present."

"Don't worry about that. I bought something from their list. We just have to remember to put your name on the card."

Bella parked her car in front of her office and sighed. "I need to go back to work. Do you want to have dinner with me tonight? I mean, only if you're not tired of spending time with me."

"Of course, I want to. I l-l-lo-," Alice stumbled out, barely managing to stop herself from confessing her feelings for Bella. "I love being around you."

"Maybe you should try to find some friends your own age. You're young. Go out and have some fun."

"I'd rather be with you, if you don't mind."

Bella's mouth twitched. "No, I don't mind." she whispered, leaning over to press her lips against Alice's cheek. "I don't mind at all."


	15. Chapter 15

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for all your reviews. I'm thrilled that so many of you enjoy reading my little story here. You make me feel loved.

****15****

She's crying. I can't believe she's actually crying, Bella thought. She placed her hand carefully on Alice's smaller one and started rubbing circles over the soft skin.

"Please, stop crying. It's going to ruin your beautiful make-up."

"W-w-waterproof m-m-mascara." the girl whispered before she leaned forward to search for a tissue in her handbag. Weddings always made her emotional. There was something about the romantic atmosphere, the sound of low piano music and the breathtaking decoration of flowers and white net lace that overwhelmed Alice.

Bella took a rose that was lying on the bench in front of them and lifted it to her nose.

"Do you like roses?" Alice asked, fighting the almost unbearable urge to lean her head against Bella's shoulder. She had a great need for physical affection but was worried Bella wouldn't like it if she started getting too clingy in public.

"They're pretty." Bella murmured. "But it hurts if you prick your fingers on their thorns."

She handed the flower to Alice and when their fingertips touched each other for a split second Bella could feel electricity running through her veins. Alice looked so very tempting today. The dress she had bought for her showed off the girl's lovely legs. She wanted to caress each single inch of their light tanned flesh with her mouth. Her insides began to tingle at the fantasy. Maybe it was easier to continue with something wrong once you've started with it?

The rising of the crowd around them brought Bella back to the presence. She needed to be careful here. No one could know about her interest in her best friend's daughter. She didn't want to brand herself with the label cougar. Her entire life she had never been with someone so much younger than herself. This could lead nowhere, but maybe that was exactly the point. They could have a nice, passionate summer together and afterwards both of them could carry on with their separate lives.

"Bella," Jake's deep voice greeted her. "You look lovely today."

She hugged him tightly and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Congratulations. I'm happy for the two of you."

Edward wrapped his arm around his new husband and grinned. "Took me long enough to convince him, didn't it, J?"

Jake chuckled and kissed Edward's mouth. "But now you won't get rid of me, Mr. Black."

"I can't believe you managed to talk me into taking on your name. Oh, there's someone with champagne. Bella, do you and your friend here want some too?"

"She's too young to drink." Bella told him, placing a glass with orange juice between Alice's fingers. Then she took a glass of the champagne and clicked it against Edward's. "I wish you all the best, Edward. Love is rare in this world. You're lucky to have found some."

"So, she's your neighbor's kid. The one you are supposed to babysit while they're on vacation." Jake stated, after gulping down the content of his glass.

"I d-d-don't need a babysitter."

"Alice is very mature for her age. I'm glad she agreed to accompany me here today."

"You should have taken the opportunity to find a date for the wedding. They're always a great possibility to hook up with someone."

"I'm not interested in dating."

"Alice, this woman is hopeless. Don't take her as a role model or you'll end up an old spinster."

"B-b-bella is beautiful." Alice protested, stepping a bit closer to the woman.

"That she is, kiddo, that she is." Edward mumbled. "If I wasn't gay, I'd probably fall for her myself. It would be great to date someone with whom I can spend the entire day at work."

"Mr. Cullen," a nasal voice said behind them. Aro Volturi grinned and reached out his hand. "Or maybe I should start calling you Mr. Black from now on, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, Mr. Volturi, that's my name now. It's so nice that you managed to make it."

Bella could hear the tension in Edward's voice. She knew that he wasn't too fond of having Aro here today. Their boss was a creepy workaholic who had gone so far as to fire his own sister out of their father's newspaper company. What kind of person did something like that?

Aro noticed Alice and cleared his throat. "Oh and whom do we have here? What a rare little flower. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss."

He took Alice's hand and pressed his lips against the dainty knuckles. Alice shuddered. There was something about this man that made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Alice is my best friend's stepdaughter. She's spending her summer holidays here to work with kids. Isn't that amazing?" Bella told him, placing her arm around Alice's shoulder.

They spend a few more minutes exchanging polite small talk with Bella's boss before they walked off. The hotel where the wedding took place was huge. You could get lost there.

"Do you like big weddings?" Alice asked Bella, finally bringing up the courage to take her hand. They were alone a bit further away from the tent they had put up in the garden. There was a little fountain with flower petals swimming in the water.

"Not really. Do you?"

"I think it's beautiful. When I get married I want all of this too. I mean apart from the naked guy ice-statue."

"You can order those in all kind of shapes. Maybe you'd like some floral design better."

Alice nodded her head. "I'd like whatever you like."

Bella laughed. She quickly scanned the area around them, noticing nobody close enough so that they could be watched. Then she leaned down and touched her lips to Alice's. "You're such a dear girl. I'm sure you're going to make someone special very, very happy one day."

"I don't w-w-want to be with a-a-anyone b-b-but you." Alice stuttered nervously. "I like –y-y-you."

With a soft sigh Bella pressed her mouth against Alice's full lips again. "Liking someone is not the same as loving someone. But you're young. You're going to figure out the difference soon enough."

Alice's grip around Bella's waist tightened. She didn't want her to think that what she felt for her was something like a stupid teenage crush. How difficult could that be to make Bella know she loved her without actually saying the words?


	16. Chapter 16

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for your reviews. I love hearing your thoughts on my little story here.

****16****

Bella tried to concentrate on balancing from one foot to the other. Dancing was something she had never been graceful at, yet it seemed so very easy for Alice.

"Don't you like dancing?" the girl asked her, rubbing her thumb over Bella's palm. "You s-s-seem tensed."

"I'm not a very good dancer."

"You need to let me lead and stop thinking. Dancing is supposed to be fun."

There was a strong impulse in her to bend down to kiss Alice. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought, but Bella knew it was impossible. She couldn't risk something like that in the middle of the dance floor.

Someone petted her shoulder, making her movements come to an abrupt stop.

"Can I cut in?" Jake asked her, holding out his hand. "Everyone needs to dance with the groom."

A smile flashed over Bella's face. Jake was nice, so cheerful and down-to-earth. He was good for Edward.

Her eyes stayed focused on Alice when the girl swirled towards the gigantic cake castle at the other side of the room. Bella had never cared too much for cake.

"You're going to break that poor girl's heart."

"What?" Bella croaked, almost stepping on Jake's left foot. "What do you mean with that?"

Jake grinned and swirled her around. "I see the way she's looking at you. Someone has a crush here, big time."

"Alice is too young for me. She could be my daughter."

"Age is just a number, baby. You should allow yourself to have some fun now and then."

The music stopped with a loud cracking noise and Jake dropped his arms from Bella's waist.

"Crap, I hope Seth didn't break the entire sound system. I need to have a look at that. Thanks for the dance, Bella."

Bella went to look for Alice and tell her she wanted to leave. How awkward that Jake had noticed something. She couldn't let that happen again. Maybe it would be best to end their affair. The thing was though that Bella didn't want to end it. Alice made her feel alive. She filled her mind with thoughts so much lighter than what she was used to. Shit, you sound like you're crushing on her. How ridiculous. You're not a stupid teenager anymore and you can't allow yourself to fall in love now. You don't want that.

"Bella Hunter?" someone asked behind her. She turned around, facing a tall raven-haired beauty in an orange silk dress. "How nice to meet you here," the woman greeted her. You remember me, don't you?"

"Not exactly," Bella whispered, feeling the blood leave her face. Of course she remembered the woman. She just wasn't prepared to meet her again.

"I'm Leah Uley. My son was born on the same day like your daughter. What's her name again? Mabel or something like that?"

"Marissa," Bella breathed, grabbing the chair next to her. Dizziness spread through her. She wanted to run but her legs wouldn't move forward.

"What a lovely name. Sammy junior is a handful. I guess that girls are easier to handle."

"Bella! There you are. I went for a walk in the garden and almost got lost."

Alice realized that Bella was all white in the face and carefully wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "Are you okay? You're pale."

"Maybe she should sit down for a moment." Leah suggested, pulling the chair out. "Do you have problems with a low blood pressure?"

"No," Bella whispered. "I don't feel well. Alice, would you mind if we leave now?"

"No, that's fine with me. Let me get our handbags."

Outside in the parking lot, Alice made Bella sit down on the passenger's seat of the car. "I'll drive. Who was that woman? She's pretty."

"I think I forgot her name. She's probably one of Jake's relatives."

Alice kicked off her shoes and slipped on some flats. "Yay, now I'm the perfect dwarf size again."

"You're not that small."

"4.7 is embarrassingly small. I want to be tall and beautiful."

"You're pretty the way you are." Bella murmured, lifting Alice's hand to her lips. "Thanks for coming here with me today."

"You're welcome. I just wished we had waited for them to cut the cake."

"We can buy some on our way back home. I know the shop where Edward and Jake ordered their castle cake. It looks great but tastes like cardboard."

Back at her place, Bella started some coffee and pulled out two plates. Alice had rushed over to her own house to get some new clothes. Bella liked the thought of holding the girl close to her all night long. She noticed a message on her machine and picked up the phone to call back.

"Cullen," her best friend's voice greeted her on the other line.

"Hey gorgeous, how's it going over there?"

"I was on the Eiffel Tower today, on my own because my husband is too busy attending stupid meetings."

"You sound disappointed."

"I'm not. I know how Carlisle is like. It's just…well, it doesn't even matter. How are things going with Alice? I told Carlisle to call her but he's probably forgotten about it."

"She's fine," Bella assured Esme. "In fact she was on Edward's wedding with me today."

"Oh that's nice that the two of you are getting along. Tell her I said hi, will you?"

"Of course, I'll do that."

"Why do you sound so sad? Is something wrong?"

"No,"

"Bella, I know you. Something is bothering you. Did something happen?"

Bella sighed and sat down on the edge of the kitchen table. "You remember that Uley woman who was in the same room in the hospital when I had Marissa?"

"Not really. Crap, don't tell me you've run into her. Oh my poor darling. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It shouldn't matter anymore. It's been three years."

"Honey, you can tell that to anyone else but not me. I know how difficult this is for you."

"I don't want to talk about it again. Talking changes nothing. Good bye Esme. Enjoy the rest of your vacation."

Bella disconnected the call and placed the plates with the cake on a small tray. It will probably taste a lot better if we'll eat it in bed, she thought walking up the stairs to her bedroom.


	17. Chapter 17

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Welcome back. I hope you'll enjoy today's update. Thanks for being so supportive.

****17****

Bella could feel the waves of lust spreading through her veins like liquid fire. She caressed the girl's head with her fingertips while she felt the warm tongue dipping against her belly-button once more.

"I never ate cake from someone's stomach before." Alice whispered, wiping her mouth. "It's fun."

A deep sigh escaped Bella's parted lips. She took both of Alice's wrists in her hand and pulled them up. Then she turned them around, until she was hovering on top of the girl. Her full breasts pressed deliciously against Alice's smaller ones. When she moved up a bit her nipples brushed gently against the rosy tips underneath them. A shiver went through Alice's body. The way Bella could make her feel was amazing. The fabric of her thong was already moist. She didn't even know she could get wet like that.

"What are you thinking?" Bella asked, running her lips down Alice's throat. "Does this feel good for you, pretty girl?"

Her hand moved between their bodies and when her fingertips reached the thin cotton material Alice's hips lifted up from the bed.

"Someone's greedy here, aren't you? I love the way you respond to my touch."

"Am I t-t-too w-w-wet?"

"You're not. Stop worrying about that. Now, tell me what you want me to do to you?"

"I c-c-can't do this. That's embarrassing."

Bella chuckled deeply and started planting kisses down Alice's collarbone. When her lips closed around the hard nipple she could hear a soft moan from Alice's mouth. The girl was shy. Maybe because she was so inexperienced, maybe because that was just the way Alice was. Whatever it was it appealed to Bella. More so, it excited her.

She hooked her fingers under the girl's thong and pulled them down Alice's legs.

"You have beautiful legs, pretty girl." Bella murmured, running her nose carefully up their inside. "Your skin is so soft. I can't stop touching you."

"T-t-then d-d-don't."

Very slowly Bella started circling her fingertips up the insides of Alice's thighs. When she finally touched her lips against the girl's moist folds, Alice whimpered.

"Do you want me to stop?" Bella asked, teasing Alice even more by breathing gently over the girl's clit. She considered using one of her toys on Alice but decided that it would most likely intimidate her too much.

"Don't s-s-stop p-p-please."

Alice felt her clit throbbing. The muscles in her abdomen tensed while she enjoyed the way Bella's tongue and fingers caressed the most intimate parts of her body. How would that be like to kiss Bella down there too? The thought made Alice nervous but when her climax hit her a few moments later, the pleasure overwhelmed her. This was better than she had ever imagined sex to be like.

"Y-y-you're so good at this."

"Had a good teacher, I guess. Are you feeling okay? You're trembling a bit."

"I don't know why. It was so…so…oh fuck."

"Such a dear girl, come here and let me hold you."

"Shouldn't I…k-k-kind of take care of y-y-you now?"

"I think you should calm down a little first. Just focus on your heartbeat. It's racing." Bella told Alice, placing her hand on Alice's chest.

"Am I a bad lover?"

"Are you worried about that?" Bella asked, pulling the blanket over them. "There's no need to. I like sleeping with you."

"But I w-w-want to be good at this,"

"It's not sports or some crap like that. Sex is just about what feels good. It feels very good to me when you touch me."

She hugged Alice a bit closer against her body and stroked softly over the dark curls. The hair felt all spikey from the tons of hairspray Alice had used to fix it today.

Her eyes moved up to the ceiling. It was wrong that she liked having the girl here so much. It was like she enjoyed holding her even more than the sex before. Wasn't that weird?

"Your stepmother called." she told Alice. "She wants me to say hi to you."

"Did you tell her about us?"

"What is there to tell about? I mean, no, of course I didn't tell her. Esme would freak if she knew."

"I don't care what she thinks."

"But I do. She's my best friend. When my baby…when Marissa died she was the only one who was there for me. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably be dead now."

"I'm sorry. What about your husband? I mean, h-h-he –s-s-should have supported you somehow."

"James thinks it's my fault. He never said it out loud but I know how he thinks. A mother should know when something is wrong with her child, shouldn't she?"

Alice nodded her head and sighed. "It's not your fault that the baby died. I don't want you to think something like that."

"You can't know it's not my fault. Look, can we please stop talking about this stuff. It makes me feel awkward."

"I'm sorry about that. You could still have another baby if you wanted, couldn't you?"

Bella didn't respond to that. Her endless discussions with her husband flashed through her mind.

_We could try again. We should try again._

Bullshit!

"Are you angry at me now?"

"No." Bella mumbled, standing up from the bed. She pulled a shirt over her head and grabbed the tray with the empty plates. "I'll take this down and put it in the dishwasher. Do you want me to get you something to drink?"

"Can we have wine?"

"There is no way, I'm allowing you to drink alcohol in my house. You're too young for that."

"You sound like my mother. That's not very sexy."

"Your mother wouldn't like you being with me at all. Just for the record. Drinking doesn't turn you into an adult. It makes people do stupid things."

Alice pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Do you have apple juice?"

"I think so."

Down in the kitchen Bella poured herself a glass of water. She could still taste Alice in her mouth and she loved it. If only the girl wouldn't get so observing. She really didn't like that too much.

With a sigh she opened the cupboards, pulling out the box that was standing in its corner. When she opened it, the small note in Esme's handwriting fell into her hands.

_Sweetie, you really should call this woman. She might be helpful. Don't be scared. She's pretty normal for a shrink. Love Esme_

At the bottom of the note was a name with a phone number next to it. Bella pinned the piece of paper to her fridge. Maybe she would call the woman on Monday. Maybe she wouldn't. Bella was not sure about that yet.


	18. Chapter 18

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my lovelies. Thanks for taking the time to read my little story here.

****18****

Bella had a natural mistrust when it came to shrinks. She just couldn't get why anyone would be interested in listening to other people's psycho crap the entire day. Wouldn't that turn any sane person crazy?

Taking a deep breathe she entered the office. It was Monday afternoon and the therapist's secretary had managed to switch her in between two other appointments. An unpleasant nervousness made her palms begin to sweat. What use would it have to talk to a random stranger about what had happened? It wouldn't make any difference would it?

"Mrs. Swan?" the secretary greeted her looking up from her desk. "Dr. Hale will be ready to see you in a few minutes. Would you just fill out these papers first?"

She pointed to a row of metal chairs at the left corner. Bella fumbled for a pen in her handbag and started scrawling down her personal information.

"Do you vomit?" a tall man sitting across from her asked her suddenly.

"Pardon me? What?"

"Do you vomit? You're not thin enough to be anorectic so I'm betting it's the other stuff. Am I right?"

"I don't have any issues with food and even if I had that would sure as hell not be your business."

He laughed, dropping the sport magazine he was holding to the ground. "I'm just trying to make some small talk. Is this your first session with Dr. Hale?"

"Again this is not your business. Look, I need to fill out this stuff here."

"I see. Do you want me to help you? I know what to mark to get you on the good meds that make you all happy."

"No-thanks,"

A door on the right side of the hall opened with a loud squeak, followed by the graceful movements of heels on the parquet floor. The therapist looked nothing like Bella had imagined her to be like. Where were the nerdy glasses and the huge grey wool sweater?

Instead the statuesque blonde woman looked more as if she had just escaped a fashion magazine. Her jeans hugged her curves perfectly and the black shirt she was wearing exposed a gracious amount of a full cleavage.

"Emmett, here's your prescription. Take them the way we discussed it and I'll see you next week."

"What about our appointment on Thursday?" he asked his face turning into a disappointed frown.

"I don't think you need to see me that often anymore."

"You don't have a heart, Dr. Hale. I have so many problems and you always play them down. How can you live with that?"

She rolled her eyes and pressed the note with the prescription between his fingers. "Promise me to be a good boy, okay?"

"Anything for you, Dr. Hale, anything you want."

For a moment Bella thought he was going to hug the doctor but then he just grabbed his magazine from the floor and walked out.

When he was out of sight the therapist sighed. She cleared her throat and gave Bella a perfect toothpaste advertising smile.

"Hello Mrs. Swan. My name is Dr. Rosalie Hale. Let's take this to my office. Shall we?"

"Do I have to lie down on the leather couch?" Bella asked nervously when they entered the room. It was painted in a light blue color with an expensive looking glass desk in front of the window.

"If you find it easier to talk in that position feel free to, but it's not a must."

She sat down on the edge of the glass table crossing one leg over the other.

"Just take a seat. We can start whenever you're ready."

"I don't even know if I should be here."

"Why?"

"Because talking about her death isn't going to bring my daughter back again."

"You're right about that. Nothing can make undone what happened."

"Then what's the point in all this therapy stuff?"

"Your child is dead but you are still here. Do you feel guilty for that?"

"Should I?"

Dr. Hale shook her head and took a notepad from the desk to write something down on it. "It's about what you feel not what you should feel."

"I don't know how I feel. I'm numb. I can't even go inside Marissa's room. I've locked it up."

"Why can't you go inside it? What would happen if you did?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I just can't endure the thought of going there."

"It's just a room."

"But this is where she died. Where I…god, I just can't go inside there, ever."

Dr. Hale hooped from the desk and walked over to the window to open it.

"You need to allow yourself to grieve. Do you go the cemetery to visit her grave?"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"I don't think she's there…her soul I mean."

"You need to find yourself a place to grieve for your child. Maybe somewhere you actually enjoy going."

"Do I need to take pills too? I don't really want to."

"Mrs. Swan, unlike some of my other patients you are here because it's your choice. I'm not going to put you on antidepressants if you don't want them. Pills are not going to help in your case."

"Okay. Can I ask you something private, Dr. Hale? You look pretty young for a shrink."

"I assure you that my diplomas are real. Would you rather see a therapist who's ugly?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, it doesn't matter at all."

"Everything matters, Mrs. Swan. Look, our time is up now. Vera will set up a new appointment with you. Good bye, Mrs. Swan."

Bella arranged her second session for her lunch break on Friday. When she walked outside it was raining. Within seconds her hair was clinging to her face and the fabric of her dress was soaked through. She shivered and quickly rushed to the car, turning the heat on as soon as she sat down inside of it.

You look like crap, Bella, she thought when she checked her face in the mirror.

She pulled out her cell and dialed Alice's number.

"Hi Bella,"

"You sound out of breathe. Are you alright?"

"I-I-I'm just c-c-cleaning the house."

"You don't have to clean my place. That's completely unnecessary. I can handle that myself."

"I'm just trying to make myself useful. It makes me feel less like a loser. None of the kindergartens I called earlier wants to hire me. It's so frustrating."

"We'll find something for you, I promise. Now, do you want to go for a walk with me?"

"It's raining."

"I know. That's what's going to make it fun."


	19. Chapter 19

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to another chapter, my darlings. I hope you're feeling great. Thanks for your support.

****19****

"Are you cold? You're shivering." Bella noticed when she and Alice entered her house. The walk outside in the rain had been nice. Bella always found that rain had a calming effect on her mood somehow. Now their clothes were completely soaked through. Under the fabric of Alice's white top you could clearly see the outlines of a black bra. The view excited Bella and she dreamily licked her lips.

"You should get out of these wet clothes before you get sick." she stated, running her fingertips over the wet cotton fabric. "Do you need me to help you?"

"I-i-if y-y-you want to," Alice stammered, trying to get the chattering of her teeth under control.

"If I had my will you'd probably be walking around naked the entire time." Bella murmured before she pulled Alice's top over the girl's head. "You're gorgeous."

She let her hands glide around the pair of perfectly shaped small breasts. Wasn't that amazing how they would fit into the palm of her hands? It was if Alice's body had been made for her alone.

"Do you want to take a shower with me? We could need some warming up now."

Alice nodded her head and followed Bella upstairs. When she felt Bella's bare body pressing against hers underneath the hot water a few minutes later, she could feel her arousal building from deep within. Again and again she rubbed some heavenly scented body wash all over Bella's gorgeous curves. Bella's insides trembled from the excitement Alice's gentle caress was causing her.

How would that be like to have Alice play around on her with that waterproof vibrator while they were in here? The thought made Bella's pussy quiver with anticipation. Yes, she definitely wanted them to try that some time.

Finally after the water above their heads started turning colder they stepped outside and dried themselves off with warm fluffy towels.

On Bella's bed Alice straddled her and for a few moments Bella was content by feeling the girl's warm body moving gently up and down on hers. Then she needed more, the excitement driving her crazy. No one had ever made her feel this greedy for sex before.

"Kiss me," she breathed into Alice's ear. "Please kiss me now, pretty girl."

Alice moaned and pressed her lips against Bella's lips. Her tongue moved between them when Bella parted them a bit. Yes, this was good, Alice thought. She wanted to do everything to make Bella happy. Maybe she should have looked up a bit more about lesbian love-making on the internet?

Bella took Alice's right hand in hers and guided it between their bodies. The moment she felt Alice's fingers against her clit a groan left her lips.

"I want you to kiss me here, pretty girl. Do you want to try this for me?"

Something inscrutable between a yes and a wordless moan escaped Alice. Her lips moved down over the silken flesh of Bella's abdomen. For a moment she stroked gently over the pale scar above Bella's mound. Was that from the baby's birth?

Pushing the thought and her nervousness away as good as she could Alice eventually touched the tip of her tongue to Bella's swollen clit.

"Oh god, yes," Bella groaned. "Just like this. Lick my clit. Oh fuck….god, Alice."

Trying to mimic something close to an eight shaped figure that she followed with her tongue Alice continued exploring Bella's most intimate parts. She tried to put a name to the tangy taste that filled her mouth and welcomed it eagerly by swallowing more of it. She was the one who was making Bella's body react like this. She was the source of her pleasure. The moment Alice felt Bella climaxing she felt incredibly powerful.

Pulling back from Bella's pussy some sudden dizziness spread through her. Maybe she had forgotten to breathe for a bit too long?

"You're wonderful, pretty girl. Are you sure you haven't done that before?"

"Yes," Alice whispered resting her head against Bella's hipbone. "And I never want to do it to anyone else but you."

With a sigh Bella wrapped her arms around Alice's shoulder. "One day you'll fall in love. Then you're going to change your mind on that pretty soon."

"No, I won't."

"We'll see, Alice, we'll see. I'd love to use one of my toys on you now. Would you be okay with that?"

"W-w-what t-t-toy?"

Bella pulled her nightstand open and showed the silver-colored vibe to Alice.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me. This is going to feel marvelous on your pussy."

After turning the toy on its lowest setting Bella stroked gently over Alice's inner thigh with it. Finally she moved it feather lightly over the girl's outer lips.

"Fuck," Alice moaned, overwhelmed by the sensations the toy's soft vibrations were causing her to feel. It didn't take long until her hips jerked upwards with a powerful release.

For a moment she had trouble catching her breathe again. Then she cuddled even closer against Bella's body. This was the part she liked just as much as the sex beforehand. Alice had always been a cuddly person and she loved being in Bella's arms.

"Do you have many s-s-sex toys?" she asked shyly. "Or is that your o-o-only one?"

"I have some other stuff. I can show it to you some time if you want me to."

"Maybe later," Alice told Bella, stroking tenderly over the woman's brown tresses. "How was your session with the shrink?"

"I don't know. She doesn't look like a professional therapist, more like some model for bathing suits."

"That means she's p-p-pretty, right?"

"Yes, she's very attractive. Why would a woman like that work in such a nerdy profession?"

"Maybe she has her reasons. Do you find her attractive?" Alice asked, her tone filled with a hint of jealousy.

"Hell, no, I'm not interested in that woman. That would be unethical because she's my therapist."

"Yes, m-m-most likely. Do you think it helps you seeing her? I want you to feel better."

"I feel pretty good right now. Somehow, I always feel good when I'm near to you."


	20. Chapter 20

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new update, my lovely readers. Thanks for your interest in my little story. It's a fun project to work on for me.

On a side-note I feel like I need to make it clear that this storyline has nothing to do with pedophilia. Alice is young, yes, but she's still a legal adult who is free to be with whoever she chooses to be with. That comment about picturing her as a nine-year-old totally creeped me out. I don't even have words for how sick and wrong this is. If this is the way the story comes off, I should take it down. Child abuse is one of the worst things ever and I don't wish my work to be connected to this kind of crap.

Sorry for rambling but I needed to get this off my chest.

****20****

Bella groaned when she woke up from her sleep and pulled Alice's naked body a bit closer against her own. She blinked a few times until her eyes got used to the bright light in her bedroom. It had been forever since she had managed to sleep that well.

"Good Morning," Alice mumbled tiredly. "Do we have to get up yet?"

"I, do, yes, because I need to get ready for work. You can sleep in if you want to."

"No. I can't. Have you forgotten that I still need to find a job?"

Standing up from the bed, Bella wrapped the blanket around her bare body. "Oh sweet girl, stop worrying that much about this." She pulled a dress out of her closet and quickly grabbed some underwear from her dresser.

In her bathroom Bella splashed some water into her face and applied some mascara to her eyelashes. Her usually pale face had a refreshed glow it. That was probably a result of her make-out session with Alice last night. The memory instantly made her all tingly again. She'd love to start the day with another round of sex but her watch told her she was already running late.

"I'm sorry." Bella told Alice leaning down to kiss her goodbye. "I have to leave for work. Just let yourself out whenever you're ready."

She stepped into a pair of heels and planted a second kiss on Alice's mouth. "Last night was incredible. I just needed to tell you again."

"C-c-can I see you tonight?" Alice asked, cuddling the pillow under her head.

"Sure, sweet girl. But it's going to be late. I need to get this crappy article for my boss done and he usually has a tone of things he likes to get changed last minute."

After Bella left Alice started to toss and turn around on the bed. She was too awake to go back to sleep now anyway. Her eyes moved to the silver-colored vibrator on the nightstand. How many of those did Bella own? Had she ordered it online or bought in a shop?

Alice had always been a bit more curious than it was good for her. After a few minutes of hesitation she decided to take a closer look into the content of Bella's nightstand. Her fingertips trembled nervously when she pulled the wooden box out of it. This was so wrong. It was definitely not okay to invade another person's private life like this.

There was another vibrator inside of the box. It was curved a bit on the top. Why would they build them shaped like that? The pair of golf-ball sized silver balls made her roll her eyes. So, you put these inside and they made you come? How?

She sat up in the middle of the bed and opened a bottle with a crystal clear liquid. It smelled a bit chemical. _Astroglide_ it read on the bottle. Well, I don't think, I'm in need for this, Alice thought with a smile on her face.

Her hand wrapped around a thick plastic dildo. It intimidated her that she could barely manage to close her fingers around the shaft. This had to hurt if you put it inside you, right?

Alice heard the phone ringing downstairs and quickly placed the box with the toys back into the nightstand. She went down the stairs and listened to the call that was being recorded by the answering machine.

"Good Morning, Beautiful. It's me, Angie." A female voice purred into the receiver. "I know this is awkward but I really do miss you. Can we have dinner sometime this week? It's on me. Give me a call. Kisses."

Red hot anger spread through Alice. She didn't like the thought at all that Bella could be going out with someone else. For a split second her fingertip circled over the delete button but then she was too chicken to press it. Damn it, Bella wouldn't actually consider going on this date, would she?

In an attempt to distract herself from her inner struggle Alice tried to think of other places where she could work as a volunteer during the summer. She noticed a small leaflet that was pinned to Bella's fridge.

A library? Yes, that sounded like a good plan. She was going to call there after her breakfast.

An hour later Alice found herself standing inside the hall of said library talking to a bubbly woman named Mrs. Newton. "So, you want to work with kids. That's so nice. Do you like reading to them? Or maybe you could help Angela with this school kid project. She's trying to convince them to read instead of playing videogames all the time."

"And I'm so going to succeed in this." A tall black-haired woman stated, stepping closer. She reached out her hand and smiled kindly. "Hi, I'm Angela Weber. You must be our new volunteer. It's nice to meet you."

This had to be her lucky day, Alice thought. She felt proud that she had managed to find a new job without Bella's help. The women who worked at the library seemed nice. No one was going to force her to chop onions here or some crap like that.

"Look, I'm sorry. I don't have time today to train you. We'll do that tomorrow morning." Angela stated. "We're understaffed and I have a ton of other things to do today. Jess is going to fill out the paper stuff with you. I'll see you tomorrow at ten." With that she walked off, carrying a pile of books in her arms.

"Angela seems nice. I'm going to like working with her."

Jessica chuckled. She nibbled on the end of her pen and leaned over the counter. "Listen, sweetie, you need to keep your mouth shut. I'm not supposed to tell anyone but I feel like I should probably give you a little warning."

"Warning on what?" Alice asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly, Alice, not exactly, I just thought I let you know that Angela is a dyke."


	21. Chapter 21

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] I want to hug those of you who are so incredibly supportive. Thank you for always being by my side. It makes me happy that you love my writing.

****21****

When Bella came home late at night she found Alice fast asleep on the couch. For a moment she admired the sleeping girl before she stepped closer and pulled a blanket over Alice's body.

"Bella?" she asked tiredly, blinking through her eyelashes. Alice sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes. "How late is it?"

"Around midnight, did you try to wait for me? You shouldn't have done that."

"You said we were going to have dinner together. I ordered some Mexican food. It's in the fridge."

Bella sat down next to Alice and kicked off her heels. Her feet were aching after running around the entire day in those uncomfortable death traps. She realized that she actually found it nice to come home to someone instead of entering an empty house.

"That was nice of you. I'm starving."

"You worked forever today."

"It's okay. I'm just sorry you sat here and waited for me. I should have called you to let you know it was getting late."

"I don't mind. Um, speaking of calling, some woman left a message on your machine. She wants you to call back."

"I'll do that tomorrow. How do you know what the caller said?"

"I j-j-just came d-d-down when the machine picked up." Alice stuttered nervously. Then she cleared her throat and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I don't want you to go out with this Angie person."

"Angela called? Oh sweet girl, you don't have to be jealous. She and I are just friends."

"It didn't sound like friendship is what's on that woman's mind."

"God, you're so angry. That's funny…and hot somehow."

Bella wrapped her arms around Alice's waist and pushed the girl's top up until she exposed the bra underneath it. When her fingers circled over the small mounds Alice whimpered softly.

"You're so sexy when you get mad. It's such a turn on. Let's take this to my bedroom. Shall we?"

Alice's mind was spinning. She followed Bella up the stairs and when the door to Bella's bedroom closed behind them she was already getting damp between her legs.

She groaned when Bella kneeled down in front of her and pulled her panties down her ankles. Seconds later she felt the woman's velvety tongue against the outer lips of her pussy. It didn't take long until her inner walls spasmed around Bella's tongue.

Bella tightened her grip around Alice's hips. She loved pleasuring Alice with her mouth. It made her horny to taste the girl's arousal in her mouth. Her own pussy was throbbing with need. The great amount of her afternoon at work she had fantasied about playing on Alice with her dildo. She wanted to show all her toys to Alice and explore them with her until both of them would climax countless times.

"Alice," Bella whispered, replacing her tongue with her fingers for a moment. "I want to use one of my toys on you tonight."

Alice trembled with anticipation. She couldn't wait for Bella to show her the toy. Then she heard the clicking of a bottle, followed by the strange scent of the lube she had smelled earlier when she had explored Bella's nightstand.

"This is lube. It smells a bit weird but the feeling on your skin is amazing. It gets warm. You're going to like this."

Bella stepped back from the bed and pulled her dress over her head. She tossed her bra and panties to the ground and kneeled down next to Alice's side.

"Do you have any idea how much you turn me on? I can barely focus on anything else apart from how I want to fuck you."

She grabbed the dildo from her nightstand and squeezed a generous dollop of the lube on the plastic penis.

"No," Alice croaked. "T-t-this is not going to fit. It's t-t-too t-t-thick."

Immediately Bella dropped the toy on the crumpled sheets next to her. She cuddled against Alice and caressed her face with her fingertips.

"There is no need to be scared. I'd be very careful and would go slow. But if you don't want to get penetrated that's fine. I'd never do anything you don't like."

Alice sighed. She shifted around on the bed until she was straddling Bella. She moved her hips up and down until Bella moaned loudly.

"Can I u-u-use that toy t-t-thing on you first?" she whispered into Bella's ear. "I'd like to try that."

Bella groaned and pressed the lube covered toy between Alice's fingers. Then she leaned back against the pillows and parted her legs as wide as possible. When she felt the head of the dildo pressing against her pussy she rocked up her hips to get it deeper inside her.

"Yes, just like this, Alice. Push it inside me. Oh fuck, this feels so amazing. Keep going, sweet girl. God, you're going to make me come so hard."

Bella's climax was rough, making her body shake violently from head to toe. She could feel tears streaming down her face.

"Did I hurt you? Oh, Bella, I'm so s-s-sorry. Are y-y-you okay?"

"Yes, I'm good. Fuck that was intense. I'm sorry for crying. That very rarely happens when I come."

"That means it was good, r-r-right?"

Bella nodded her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks before she kissed Alice. Minutes later when the two of them were lying cuddled together under the blankets she couldn't manage to fall asleep. Her heartbeat and breathing had returned to its normal speed but she still felt way too agitated to sleep.

Alice was jealous of Angela? Why would she be jealous? Bella's fingers caressed Alice's hair while the girl started snoring lightly. Then with an almost painful intensity a thought entered Bella's mind. At first she tried to push it aside but that wouldn't work. The jealousy, the constant cuddling, Alice ordering food for her, how she was so eager to make her happy, all of this were clear signs that this wasn't just an average affair. This wasn't just about the sex. Alice was in love with her.


	22. Chapter 22

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to the next update of my little story. Maybe I should give you a tissue warning for this one…

****22****

Bella didn't manage to sleep just one minute during that night. She was way too agitated to relax. Alice was in love with her? How could she have been so blind to the obvious? She needed to make sure that the girl wouldn't make herself completely unhappy with her crush. There was so much that Alice didn't know about her. There was a reason why she didn't want to have a relationship. Bella was scared of letting anyone get close to her. If you started to rely on people they let you down. That was exactly what had happened between her and James after Marissa's death.

Finally when the time on her alarm showed that it was already around six she stood up and took a quick shower. Her heartbeat would speed up whenever she thought of Alice. The girl was so caring, so devoted in expressing her feelings and that warmed Bella's heart.

She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. Then she went down to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

"Morning," Alice greeted her tiredly when she entered the kitchen a couple of minutes later. "I woke up and you were gone. Oh, that smells good. Are you making pancakes?"

"Do you like them? I couldn't sleep and so I got up."

"I love pancakes."

Alice hugged Bella from behind and pushed the damp tresses of brown hair over the woman's shoulder. A shiver went down Bella's spine when she felt the girl's warm mouth against her neck.

"Alice," she breathed soundlessly. "Alice, we need to talk about something."

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Bella cleared her throat nervously. She took Alice's hand and brushed her thumb over the dainty wrist.

"I know. I know how you feel about me and I feel flattered by it."

Alice blushed and stared down at the table. Her heart was racing so much it made her feel dizzy.

"Yes," she whispered eventually. "I'm in love with you."

Bella sighed deeply. "You're such a dear person. I wished I could say the same back to you but that would be a lie."

"You don't love me?"

"I care about you. I care about you more than I should, but I'm scared to fall in love again. I don't want a real relationship."

"Why?"

"Because I can't endure the thought of getting hurt or hurting someone in return, especially someone like you, Alice. You deserve better."

Alice stood up from her chair and swallowed hard in an attempt to hold the tears back. So, this was how it felt like to get your heart broken?

"Please, don't cry. I don't want to hurt you. I just can't give you what you want. It's impossible."

"Why? Is it because you think I'm too young to know what I want? Why don't you even want to try if things work out. You don't even want to give us a chance. Why?"

She sobbed desperately and wiped the first tears that were streaming down her face from her cheeks.

Bella felt an uncomfortable tightness in her throat. She didn't want to hurt Alice like this but it was inevitable.

She wrapped her arm around Alice and pulled the crying girl against her chest.

"You'll find someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved. I promise."

"But I don't want anyone but you. I love you. I love you so much. Why am I not good enough for you?"

Stumbling to the living room, Alice sat down on the edge of the couch and cried against Bella's shoulder.

"This is not your fault. It's mine, okay?" Bella whispered softly. "You are beautiful and warm-hearted and kind. Anyone should be blessed if you'd be interested in them."

"I want to be with you and not anyone else. I've been in love with you forever."

Forever? What did she mean with that? Bella asked herself. They hadn't seen each other for several years.

"Alice, you don't really know me. I'm…I'm broken and that's nothing that is going to change."

"Is this because of your ex-husband and the baby again?"

Bella nodded her head. "Yes, I think so."

"I want to be with you. Why can't you just give this a try? Is it because I'm too young for you?"

"Yes…no, I don't really know. Look, I don't want to hurt you. I like you but I'm scared of getting too attached to someone. If I do that something horrible is going to happen. I just know it will."

"You can't know that. Maybe we'd be happy. I love you."

"Oh Alice, you don't even know what love is. It makes you feel like you can fly but when you crash down to the ground it's nothing but painful."

Bella planted a soft kiss on Alice's forehead and sighed. "One day, you'll understand this."

"I don't want to understand. I want you to understand that we are right for each other."

With that she stood up from the couch and grabbed her bag before she stormed out of the house.

Bella's heart cramped. This was horrible. Now, she had made everything worse. She felt the tears in her eyes and moments later a dry sob escaped her throat. The feeling of loneliness was so overwhelming it knocked the breath out of her.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she yelled at herself while her fists slammed against the couch cushions. Why are you so fucking stupid, Bella?

Her right hand started hurting but she tried to ignore the feeling. She wanted to run after Alice and tell her that everything she had told her was a lie. She liked the girl more than she had allowed herself to admit. Now she had ruined that irrevocably.

"I forgot my jacket." Alice's light voice called from the front door.

"Bella? Why are you crying now?"

"Go away." she croaked. "I know I fucked up. I'm just so scared to get hurt again. You don't know how it's like to get your heart ripped out."

"You're probably right about that. I still know that I love you. That isn't going to change and I'm not going to give up on you."


	23. Chapter 23

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my lovely readers. Thanks for taking the time to read my little story here.

****23****

Alice wrapped her arm a bit tighter around Bella's middle and planted a kiss right above the scar underneath her bellybutton. She was glad that Bella hadn't sent her away again. Love was worth to fight for, wasn't it? Her heart started beating a bit faster while her fingers circled gently over Bella's skin.

"I don't want to have feelings for you." Bella murmured, sitting up in the bed. "But it's so hard to not like you."

"Why are you scared?"

Bella sighed and rubbed her eyes before stretching her arms. "I don't want to get hurt again."

"I'm not him." Alice stated, placing her hand on Bella's knee. "I would never let you down like that."

"James didn't let me down." Bella whispered. "There are just things that break people. Love is not like you imagine it to be like. It doesn't conquer everything. It doesn't survive everything. Love makes people vulnerable."

"I'd never hurt you."

Alice leaned over and planted a kiss on the brunette's lips. "You just need to have a little faith in me."

"Trusting people is not my strong point."

"That doesn't matter. I have lots of time to win your trust."

She stood up from the bed and tried to comb through her curly hair with her fingertips.

"I need to get ready now. I managed to find a new job. Isn't that great?"

"Really? That's fantastic. Where are you going to work?"

"In the library across the park. It's going to be fun. I just know it."

Bella was still tired but it was easy for her to count two and two together. Library? That probably meant Alice was going to work with Angela. Should she tell her that Angela was her ex or would it better to keep that information to herself?

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked worriedly. "Shouldn't I work there?"

"No," Bella whispered. She cleared her throat and stood up from the bed. "It's just…well, I better tell you myself before you hear it from someone else."

"Tell me what?"

"Angela , my ex-girlfriend works a that library. You will most likely run into her when you start working there."

Alice nodded her head. She tried to suppress the wave of jealousy that spread through her. So, the nice woman who was going to train her was Bella's ex? The same ex who still seemed to be interested in her? Alice didn't like this new information one tiny bit.

"Alice, please don't be jealous again. There is no reason."

They walked down into the kitchen where Alice gulped down a glass of milk.

"How long have you been together with her?"

"Just a couple of months, but it didn't work out. She wanted more and I couldn't give that to her. Angie wants kids, a family and I don't want that."

Bella stepped a bit closer to Alice and sighed. "I don't want to risk having another child."

"Understandable. I don't even know if I want to have kids later. I mean, I like them but I'm not sure if I want to have some of my own."

A few minutes later when Alice had left Bella grabbed her phone and dialed Angela's number.

"Hey there, gorgeous," Angela greeted her cheerfully. "I'm so glad you called back."

"Angie, I don't think I have any time for dinner this week." Bella lied nervously. "Well, actually, I have but I don't think it would be a good idea."

"I think it's a fantastic idea. Why are you always so negative?"

"I'm not negative. It's just…I met someone else. She's a bit on the jealous side."

"Oh I see. We could still go out, I mean as friends."

"Are you sure that is going to work?"

"Yes, of course. Why not? There is this lovely Japanese restaurant downtown that I'd like to test. Come on, Bella, just say yes. It's going to be fun."

xxxx

Alice had managed to calm down her nerves a bit when she entered the library. Maybe it was even good that she was going to work with Bella's ex there. She could learn from the mistakes the other woman had made, couldn't she? So, Bella was scared of starting a family? She was okay with that. She only wanted to be together with her. If it would just be the two of them forever that was perfectly fine with her. At least it would be for now.

"Good Morning, Alice." Angela greeted her. "You're here early. That's good. Let me just put these books aside and then I'll show you around."

"Thank you." Alice mumbled, pushing up the sleeves of her blouse. She followed Angela through the rooms and tried to concentrate on everything the black-haired woman was telling her.

"How long have you been working here?" Alice asked while she helped to sort a pile of children books alphabetically.

"Almost six years. I love books. They are my escape from reality."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Love is a lot more complicated in reality than it is in fantasy." Angela told Alice. She didn't want to let it discourage her that Bella didn't seem to be interested in her anymore. There were a lot of other fish out in the sea, right?

"Bad break-up?" Alice asked, her voice coming out a bit too shrill.

"Not really. My ex and I…that was probably not meant to be. She has some severe trust issues."

"She?"

"That's not a problem for you, is it? I bet that Jessica has already told you about my preferences for women. She can never keep her mouth shut."

Alice blushed and nodded her head. "I don't mind." I don't mind as long as you stay away from my Bella, she added in her head.

She knew that she and Bella were meant to be together. All she had to do was to be a bit patient. Time was on her side and Alice had all the time in the world to make Bella hers.


	24. Chapter 24

[Disclaimer] SM owns everything Twilight

[A/N] Welcome back, my lovely readers. I hope you're going to like the chapter down there. It was difficult for me to write it and hope it turned out okay.

I've also written a new one-shot called The Girl Next Door. I would appreciate it a lot if you'd take the time to check that one out too.

****24****

Bella sipped on the cup of coffee, swallowing a bit of the bitter liquid. It tasted weird. Maybe there was something wrong with the machine again?

"Isabella," Aro greeted her walking in into the small kitchen at the end of the corridor. "How are you, dear?"

That wasn't a good sign. When he put on this annoying, overly friendly tone that always meant he wanted something from her that she was not too fond of.

"I'm good. Thank you." she mumbled, adding a bit more sugar into her drink.

"How long have you been working for Volturi Daily now?"

"Three years next month." Bella told him. She remembered how she had been fighting with James about taking on a full time job. He couldn't understand her point. Bella needed any kind of distraction she could get after the baby's death.

"How would you like it to work as my personal assistant?"

Working as Aro's personal slave? The thought made her stomach churn.

"Maybe you should consider Edward. I know he has the ambition for this challenge."

Aro smirked and poured himself a glass of water. "Edward has other things on his mind now. He's a husband. They are trying to adopt a child. Did you know that?"

Bella shook her head. Everything that had to do with family planning made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She murmured some excuse to Aro and walked out. Her heart was cramping. Memories of her and James together with Marissa flashed through her mind. It had been long since her mind tortured her like this.

Somehow she managed to make it outside the building. Her knees felt weak under her and she was glad when she sat down on the grass between the office and the parking lot.

"Stop thinking about this," Bella whispered to herself. "Just stop thinking about it."

Her phone buzzed in her handbag. It was weird how both Angela and Alice kept on texting her the entire day. For a moment she wondered if Alice had mentioned anything to Angela about their affair. No, the girl wouldn't do that, right?

Bella closed her eyes and leaned back against the grass. It was damp and would probably leave green marks on her blouse.

How different her life could be like if the baby hadn't died. Maybe she could have been more careful. If she had let Marissa sleep in the same room with her and James… if she hadn't…if, if, if. The pain was excruciating. It was going to swallow her whole if she allowed herself to give into it.

She couldn't let that happen. Taking a deep breathe she let her fingers move over her phone and dialed Alice's number.

"Hi Bella. I was just thinking about you."

"Hey," Bella breathed into the receiver. "How's your day going? I just wanted to make sure everything is okay with you. Are you and Angie getting along?"

"She's nice. I don't want to find her nice."

"Are you still jealous?"

"Are you going out with her?" Alice asked.

"As friends, not on a date,"

Bella could hear the girl sighing into the phone before Alice spoke up. "She still has feelings for you. I don't like that."

"I know, but Angela and I that would never work. She's a lovely person but not the one for me."

"Who is the one for you?"

"I don't know if there is. Look, I have to go back to work now. I just wanted to hear your voice."

There was a warm calmness in Bella when she disconnected the call. Alice was such a dear girl. It was hard not to like her. The jealousy was cute too. Maybe she really should make up an excuse to cancel her dinner with Angela. It was not fair to give her hopes. Even if she had made it pretty clear that she wasn't interested in anything more than friendship.

She stood up from the grass and wiped the dirt from the backside of her skirt. Then she went back inside her office and closed the door behind her.

A new email from Aro popped up on her screen.

_**Isabella. **_

_**I don't tend to offer second chances. Re-think your opinion if you wish to have a successful future in this company. You have potential. Don't waste it. An opportunity like this one won't come along again. So consider your decision wisely**_

_**Aro**_

Bella sighed and turned away from the computer. She walked over to her window and pressed her face against the cold glass. Chances…opportunities…would Aro fire her if she refused becoming his assistant? She didn't have the nerves to deal with these worries now.

Her fingertips brushed gently over the blurred reflection of her face in the window. Then she went back to her chair and sat down on it, kicking off her heels from her feet. She dialed the number of Alice's cell again but quickly dropped the phone before it started ringing.

This was silly. Why did she feel this unbearable urge to hear Alice's voice all the time? It had been so very long since she had met anyone who was so determined to break through the walls she had built up around herself. But what could become of this? Alice was only going to be here for two months. Bella knew it was wrong to get too attached. She pulled out her cell and flipped through the photos she had made at Edward's wedding. There she was. Alice's pretty face was glowing in it. She looked so happy and that somehow managed to put a smile on Bella's face.

What are you doing to me, girl? Bella asked herself. Then she emailed the picture to her email account and saved it as her background. For a moment she admired it dreamily. Alice was beautiful. Soon someone would fall for her. It was inevitable. Anyone who wasn't completely blind would be mesmerized by her charm.

For a split second the image of Alice wrapping her arms around a faceless stranger appeared in front of Bella's inner mind. She didn't like the thought very much. God, it made her so jealous to think of Alice being with another woman. There was no way she could allow for that to happen.


	25. Chapter 25

[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to another update. I want to thank you for being such loyal and encouraging readers. Without you I wouldn't be here.

****25****

Her first day at the library was going well for Alice. After she had helped Angela to store what seemed like a thousand books in countless shelves she had started helping an eight-year-old boy how to improve his reading. She had instantly developed a liking in the kid because he was stuttering even worse than she. It was already late in the afternoon when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I think you've been here long enough now, Alice." Angela told her. "If you want you can go home. Then you'll still get to have something from the rest of the evening."

Alice nodded her head. She was looking forward to seeing Bella again. It had made her happy that Bella had called her earlier. That ought to mean something, right? Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Bella was developing feelings for her. All she had to do was be a little more patient.

"You look like you're dreaming. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine. I w-w-was just in thoughts." Alice stuttered nervously. All of this would probably be easier if Angela was a bitch and not such a nice and caring person.

She followed Angela back to the main hall where she had stored her bag in a locker.

"Angie," Jessica called from the other side of the room. "Can you help me over here? She's looking for some first editions in section D."

"I wished that woman would lean not to yell around like this." Angela whispered to Alice. Then she straightened her back and forced her lips into a polite smile. It widened when she noticed the tall blonde woman walking towards them. Alice had learned after her first hour here that Jessica liked to roll off unpleasant works to Angela.

The blonde smiled, her red lips exposing perfectly milk-white teeth. She was pretty and that was something both, Alice and Angela noticed instantly.

"Hi, Ma'am," Angela whispered. "So, you're looking for something in section D?"

"I'm not sure if you have what I need. It's some documentation about post-traumatic stress in women after experiencing SIDS. Maybe it would be easier if I tried to order the books online."

"Unnecessary. I'm sure we'll find whatever you need here. If you'd follow me, please."

Angela told Alice goodbye and the girl couldn't suppress a grin when she noticed how the curvy blonde's eyes rested a bit longer on Angela's backside when she followed her up the stairs.

Looks like someone is playing for the same team here, she thought. Then she put on her jacket and walked outside.

Back at her father's house, she quickly stepped under the shower and changed into a pair of shorts and a top. Bella had a liking for her legs and Alice was determined to show her as much of them as possible.

Her mood was cheerful when she made her way over to Bella's house.

"Wow, you look great." Bella called out. "Are you hungry? I'm making chicken salad."

"Sounds good," Alice mumbled, stepping inside the house. She kicked off her shoes and danced around the living room. "How was your day? Mine was pretty good. I like working at the library."

"Are you and Angie getting along?"

"She's a nice person. I understand why you liked her."

Bella placed her arms around Alice's waist and circled her fingers over the exposed skin on the girl's stomach. It felt smooth like silk against her palm.

"You're not still jealous of her, are you?"

"Maybe a bit. I don't want you to go out with her."

"Alice, you're acting like a jealous girlfriend. That's cute somehow but completely unnecessary."

Bella planted a chaste kiss on Alice's neck before she turned around and walked back into the kitchen. Alice switched on the TV and flipped through the channels until she found one that played some music she liked. Then she went after Bella.

"Have you n-n-never been j-j-jealous in your life?" she asked, hopping up on the counter. "It's not like I like feeling t-t-that w-w-way."

Bella wiped her hands on a towel and stepped closer to Alice. She sighed when she fisted her hands into the girl's black curls. They were still damp. Alice had probably washed it right before she had come over.

"I know how it's like to be jealous. Maybe not in the way you are but still."

"Of whom are you jealous?"

"A lot of people…mostly when I see mothers with their kids. That's painful."

"I'm sorry about that. Can I ask you why you and your husband didn't want to try again?"

Bella's face paled a bit. It made her uncomfortable to talk about anything that had to do with the loss of her daughter. Every thought was painful and most people quickly understood to avoid the subject around her. Alice was not like that. She always said what came up to her mind.

Alice noticed her mistake immediately and apologized to Bella. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. It's not my business."

"No," Bella whispered. "It's okay. I just…well, I was just so terribly scared that something like with Marissa could happen a second time. I wouldn't have survived that."

"You'd be a good Mom."

"I don't know. Look, can we please stop talking about this now? It makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Sure," Alice murmured. "We don't have to talk at all."

She cupped Bella's face in her hand and pulled it closer to kiss Bella's mouth. Butterflies swirled up in her stomach when her tongue pushed against Bella's. Alice was in heaven. She was in love and there was nothing she wanted more than for Bella to love her back.

"You're so beautiful, sweet girl." Bella breathed against Alice's neck. "I don't want you to be with someone else. That would make me awfully jealous."

"I want only you. I l-l-love—" Alice moaned when she felt Bella's lips against her throat. "I love y-y-you."

As soon as the last syllable had left her mouth panic spread through Alice It was the first time she had confessed the true deepness of her emotions to Bella. She was making herself incredibly vulnerable with this.

"You love me," Bella repeated barely audible. "You love me."

"Yes," Alice whispered. "I love you, but you already know this. I love you and I want y-y-you to l-l-love me back."


	26. Chapter 26

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Happy Valentine's Day, my dear readers. Thank you for taking the time to read my stories. I cherish your support for my work more than I could ever tell you.

****26****

She loves me. She said she loves me. Bella repeated silently inside her head while her lips moved down the girl's throat. Alice was lying on her back with her eyes closed, her head resting on Bella's lap. There was one traitorous tear glistening moist in her eyelashes. This had been a big step for Alice. She had opened her very soul to Bella and now her heart was in her hands. Bella planted kisses all over Alice's jaw before she eventually touched her mouth very gently against smooth lips. She knew that there was no way she could speak the same words to Alice now. Bella was not ready for vocalizing her feelings. For a very long time she had tried to suffocate every emotion as much as possible. But there was something about Alice and the purity of her love confession that touched her heart so much it was painful.

"You're not angry at me, are you?" Alice whispered barely audible.

"I don't tend to kiss people I'm mad at." Bella mumbled, pulling Alice against her chest. She pressed her face into the mess of black curls and sighed deeply. There was no way she could live with herself if she'd destroyed all of Alice's hopes now. Maybe because secretly, in a place where her rational mind had no entry to, Bella desired exactly the same. She wanted to be loved. She wanted to love and yet she didn't want to. It scared her.

"Bella, are you a-a-angry because I said I l-l-love you?"

"I'm not angry at you. I know how you feel about me. It's just that you saying it out loud makes it more real…somehow."

For a few moments both of them were very still. The tension building between them made it almost unbearable to breath. There was a part inside of Bella and she didn't know how strong that part was that was terribly scared by Alice's words. The last person who had told these special three words to her had been her ex-husband. She remembered James leaning over her in the hospital bed after the baby was born, his lips brushing against her temple.

_I love you. I love both of you so very much._

Her heart cramped at the memory. She tried to shove those thoughts away. They were too painful.

"W-w-would you've liked it b-b-better if I h-h-hadn't told you that I l-l-love you?"

"No, Alice, I don't think so. I just feel like I'm ruining this moment for you because I can't say it back. That doesn't mean I don't care about you. You're special. One should tell you I love you every day, every hour, every single minute."

Bella kissed Alice's lips again and enjoyed the tingles of heat that spread through her when her tongue explored the inside of the girl's mouth.

"You want me to say it back, right? I would probably want the same if I was in your place."

"I don't want you to say it unless you mean it with all of your heart." Alice told Bella, trying hard to keep the tears from falling. In her fantasies all of this had been so very difficult. Maybe now she had ruined everything by putting pressure on Bella.

"You look like you're going to start crying any second." Bella whispered, caressing Alice's cheek. "Look, I'm happy that you love me. It makes me feel cherished."

"Oh Bella," Alice sobbed. "I l-l-love you…but you don't love m-m-me back. You think I'm s-s-still a stupid child w-w-who doesn't k-k-know what it wants."

"That's not true." Bella stated. She tried to sit up a bit straighter on the couch and tightened her hold around Alice's arms. "I care about you. I care more about you than I want to."

"I don't understand."

"Look, you are such an amazing person. It's like the sun is always a bit brighter when you're around. I want to absorb your warmth. That makes me terribly selfish for I don't know if will be able to give you anything back. At least not in the way you deserve it."

"You will love me. Please, say you will love me one day. Not now, not tomorrow but I need to have hope. God, please, Bella."

"Alice, I'm scared to love someone. Love makes people vulnerable and I'm broken. That's nothing you can fix. Nobody can fix a broken heart. I don't want to be the one to break yours."

"You feel something for me. I knew you feel something for me. You don't have to say it out loud for it to be true."

Bella kissed Alice's forehead and tried to choose her next words wisely.

"Alice, please. This is complicated. You're still so young. What's in a month when you're supposed to return back to Mississippi? What's about your parents? Carlisle won't be pleased to find out you're with me."

Alice stood up from the couch and cleared her throat. It was always the age thing. Her parents wanted her to be happy. They had always assured her about this. If Bella was what made her happy they would accept her decision. At least Alice hoped so.

"I want to try to get into a college near here. But I feel like this is about you not me. I want us to work. I want to be with you. You're the one who doesn't want a relationship."

"You're eighteen. You can't know what—,"

"Stop telling me I don't know what I want yet because it's not true. Why can't you have a tiny bit of faith in us? Why can't you?"

Grabbing her handbag, Alice rushed for the door. She had her quivering hand around the door pull when she felt Bella's arms around her. A dry sob left the woman's mouth when she tried to maneuver Alice inside the house again. Bella lost her balance and both of them landed rather hard against the stair railing.

"Are you hurt?" Bella asked worriedly. "I'm sorry. God, Alice, I'm so sorry. Please don't leave. I want you to stay. I…I need you to stay."


	27. Chapter 27

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Welcome to another update. I'm grateful for your incredible support.

****27****

Alice whimpered when she felt Bella's tongue flattering teasingly over the fabric of her panties. They were already moist, both from the inside and outside. She closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts on the sensations of arousal in her body.

Maybe it was because she and Bella had been fighting right before they'd made it up the stairs to Bella's bedroom. It was as if every drop of blood in Alice's veins was on fire. Bella groaned, pushing the soaked lace down the girl's thighs.

Moments later Bella parted Alice's slick nether lips gently with two of her fingers. Her heart was not ready to love Alice the way she deserved to be loved but nothing could stop her from worshipping her body. The musky scent of lust was intoxicating to her. She cared about Alice. It had been forever since she had cared about another person so much. Bella was not willing to let go of this.

With a sigh she lowered her mouth to Alice's pussy. She circled the tip of her tongue around the swollen clit, before she moved her lips lower. The taste was divine and the sounds, throaty, suppressed groans that left Alice's mouth excited Bella. Her thumb massaged the sensitive pearl above the girl's entrance while one of her fingers found its way inside the hot tightness.

"Fuck…Bella…I want to…fuck…touch you. Can I l-l-lick you too?"

The sound of Alice's words alone almost pushed her roughly over the edge. Alice was better than a dream to come true. She was loving and gracious, willing to give all of herself to Bella.

It has pure heaven when both of their mouths found the same rhythm against the other one's clit and they shuddered with the intensity of the climax rippling throughout them.

Afterwards Bella pulled Alice against her side, pressing her sweat-covered forehead to the girl's shoulder blade.

"You're going to be the death of me."

"D-d-does that mean it w-w-was good for you?"

"Good doesn't even come close to it. You're a wonderful lover. I can't get enough of you."

"You don't have to lose me ever. I love you." Alice whispered. "All you need to do is g-g-give us a chance."

"You're the most persistent person I've met in my life. Are you sure that you're just eighteen?"

Alice inhaled deeply through her front teeth. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her body before she got up from the bed. It was always the age difference. She could try to be patient with Bella, encourage her to continue seeing a therapist. There was nothing though she could do about her age.

"Does it bother you that I'm younger than you?"

"That's complicated. Please, come back to bed, Alice. I don't want you to be angry at me." Bella said, reaching out her hand for Alice.

"I'm not angry." Alice stated. "I just want you to start seeing me as an equal."

"You're not my equal. You're better than me, way better. I'm a horrible person. I don't even deserve your love."

Bella started crying. Her heart cramped and when she felt Alice wrapping her arm around her she sobbed loudly until her throat was raw and her eyes had no more tears to shed.

xxxx

The office of her therapist smelled of oranges and some cinnamon. The scent was comforting somehow and Bella inhaled deeper to absorb more of it. She noticed the candles at the window. Was that where the scent was coming from?

"Hello, Bella." The blonde woman greeted her calmly when she entered the room. There was something about the way Dr. Hale carried herself that made her radiant. "How are you feeling? Vera told me that you practically begged her to squeeze an appointment in for you today."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's not the middle of the night or the weekend, so there is no need for apologies. I'm here for you if you feel the need to talk."

"I don't know if I want to talk. I'm just here because Alice thought it could help me."

"Who is Alice? Your mother?"

"She's my girlfriend." Bella stated, choking a bit on the last word. "But it's complicated."

"Women are always complicated." Rosalie said, brushing her fingertip over the single pink rose that was standing in a small vase on her desk. Then she grabbed her notepad. She sat down and leaned back against the bookshelf behind her chair before she started scrawling down notes.

"How long have the two of you been together?"

"Not long."

"So, she's not the co-mother of the baby you lost?"

"Alice has nothing to do with Marissa."

"Does she know about her?"

"Yes, she does. Look, I'm here because I don't want to ruin what's between me and Alice because I'm too scared to let anyone get close to me."

"Why are you scared?"

"I don't know."

"Bella, I think you know exactly of what you are afraid. Would it be easier for you to write down your fears instead of speaking the words aloud?"

"She's too young for me."

"Is she a minor?"

"No, she's eighteen. But her stepmother is kind of my best friend."

"So, you feel bad about what your best friend is going to think of you when she learns about your relationship."

"Esme is going to freak. She'll never talk to me again."

"Do you think she loves you?"

"Alice loves me more than I deserve it."

"Not Alice, Esme." Rosalie mumbled, her eyes never leaving the sheet of paper in front of her.

"She's straight. I don't think she ever considered—,"

"I'm not talking about that kind of love. You say this Esme is your best friend. That means she must care about you. She must care about you being happy, especially after what you've been through."

Bella nodded. "I think she'd rather see me being happy with someone who's not her stepdaughter."

"Love doesn't work like that. We can't choose to whom we are attracted or not. You need to stop worrying about whether other people will approve of your relationship or not. Does Alice make you happy? Do you think you can make her happy? That's the only things you should be concerned about."


	28. Chapter 28

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] thanks for your reviews. I appreciate your support for my little story here.

****28****

There was a strange calmness in Bella when she returned home from her therapy session. She wanted to be happy and she deserved it. No matter what had happened in her past. Grabbing the bouquet of lilies from the passenger's seat she stepped out of the car.

Alice had fallen asleep on the couch again. The girl had a habit of falling asleep practically everywhere when she was tired enough.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty." Bella whispered, touching her lips against Alice's lips. "It's time to wake up."

"W-w-what? Did I pass out?"

"You were tired. It's okay."

Bella sat down next to Alice and wrapped her arm around her.

"Are the f-f-flowers for me?"

"Yes. I want to apologize to you for not taking you serious. You are good for me and I really like being with you."

"I like being with you. The flowers are lovely. We should put them in a vase."

Bella followed Alice inside the kitchen and pulled a vase out of one of the cupboards.

"How was your therapy?"

"Okay, I guess. My next meeting is on Tuesday."

"I'm glad it seems to help you feel better. Can we go out tonight? I mean only if you like to."

Bella pushed Alice against the kitchen counter and lifted her up. She moaned against the girl's mouth before her tongue found its way between the silky lips.

"We could go and see a movie. Would that be okay for a date?"

"It's perfect."

"Great, I'll just hoop under the shower and then we're good to go." Bella stated, planting another kiss on Alice's lips before she rushed up the stairs.

Alice was in heaven. Maybe now all of her dreams were about to come true. She turned on the radio and started rocking her body to the rhythm of the music. Imagining Bella's naked body wet and soapy underneath the shower aroused her and she could feel how the lace of her panties dampened a bit. For a moment she considered to go upstairs and step under the shower with Bella. It would be amazing. But Alice didn't want this to be just about sex and nothing more. There would be enough time for making love later when they came home from their date.

xxxx

Half an hour later Bella parked the car in front of the movie theatre and turned off the engine.

"You're not into horror movies, are you?" she asked Alice, taking her hand in hers. "I'm not especially fond of those."

"No horror movie. You can choose the film if you want to."

Hand in hand they walked inside the theatre. Bella was nervous. What if she accidentally ran into someone she knew?

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked, tightening the grip of her hand around Bella's. "You seem a bit tensed."

"It's nothing." Bella lied. She didn't want to ruin this night for Alice. The two of them were doing nothing forbidden. They liked each other. What could be wrong about that?

"Do you want to see the movie in cinema 3? That looks like a good one to me."

"I'm fine with whatever movie you pick. Let me get some popcorn for us. I can't watch movies without some popcorn to go with it."

The movie turned out to be a horrible tearjerker. Alice snuggled closer against Bella's side and sobbed.

"Please don't cry. It's just a movie."

"I k-k-know. I can't h-h-help it. It's just so sad."

"Shhh," Bella whispered. "If you cry, you're going to make me cry too."

She lowered her mouth to Alice's to kiss her. The girl's mouth tasted sweet and a bit salty from the popcorn. Bella's hand moved between Alice's thighs.

"What are you doing?"

"Distracting you from crying. Just lean back and relax. You're going to like this."

Very gently she rubbed her fingers higher and higher, brushing them eventually very lightly over the lace that covered Alice's pussy. The girl shifted in her seat.

"We can't d-d-do this. Someone is g-g-going to notice."

"No," Bella murmured against Alice's ear. "You just have to be silent. Can you be silent when I touch you here?" she asked, letting her fingers glide underneath the panties. Her thumb pressed against the clit, making Alice whimper slightly.

"Silent. You need to be silent." Bella whispered, kissing Alice on the lips to suffocate the girl's moans. She let her fingers massage Alice's bare sex, stroking her clit in slow circles until she felt it pulsing against her fingertips. Alice was getting incredibly wet from Bella's touch. This was completely crazy and yet it aroused Alice to a point that was almost unbearable.

Then two of Bella's fingers pushed inside of her, thrusting back and forth again and again. It was too much. Alice's muscles clenched around Bella's digits as her climax made her entire body shudder.

"Let's leave. We've missed most of the movie anyway." Bella suggested, nuzzling her face against Alice's neck. "If you can stand up now, that is."

Alice pulled down her skirt again and stood up. Her knees felt a bit wobbly and she was glad for the support of Bella's arm around her waist.

"That was c-c-crazy. What if someone had caught us?" she asked Bella when they were outside the cinema.

"It was pretty dark in there and everyone was busy with crying into their tissues."

"I liked our own entertainment way better." Alice stated, standing up on her toes to press her lips against Bella's. There was a deep chuckle behind them that made them pull apart.

"Bella, I didn't know you were scoring for your own team now. Vicky, that's my ex-wife, Isabella."

"It's not your business with whom I decide to spend my time with." Bella snarled. Her insides cramped when she noticed the swollen midsection of the red-head standing next to her ex-husband. She looked as if she was just days away from giving birth.

"It's nice to meet you." the ginger-haired beauty purred. "James has told me so much about you."

Alice placed her hand on Bella's shoulder. "We were just about to leave. Bella come with me. We should go home now."

"Your little girlfriend is a bit protective, how cute." James chuckled. "Since when do you like pussy, Bells?"

"Since when do you like red hair?"

"Vicky is a beautiful woman. She makes me very happy." he stated, placing his right hand on her rounded stomach.

It was more than Bella was able to endure. She rushed outside, pulling Alice with her. On the parking lot, she collapsed on the wet asphalt.

"I'm sorry. God, Bella, I'm so sorry, we ran into them. Please, don't be sad. She's going to have an ugly kid who is going to get teased in kindergarten for having carrot-colored hair."

Bella laughed bitterly. "I shouldn't care about this. James and I are divorced. It was obvious that he was going to find another woman to start a family with."

"We should get inside the car or we're going to get all wet from the rain. I can drive if you want me to."

"I'm glad to have you." Bella whispered. "My life is so much better because you are in it now."


	29. Chapter 29

[Disclaimer] Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to another chapter. Thanks for your great response. I cherish your interest in my writing.

****29****

There was light inside of her neighbor's house when Bella and Alice returned home from the cinema. She killed the engine and sighed deeply.

"Your parents are back. That's going to make things complicated."

Alice reached for Bella's hand and lifted it to her lips. "Don't y-y-you want me anymore now?"

Bella stepped out of the car and cleared her throat. "I will always want you. It's just. I don't really know how to break the news to them. Your father is not the nicest person when he gets agitated."

Alice's mood was getting worse with every step they took towards her father's house. Hadn't he told her he would be gone for at least three weeks? She didn't want her sleepovers at Bella's place to stop. Why did they have to return so soon, just to ruin everything?

She was just about to pull out her keys, when the door was pulled open. Her stepmother looked pale, almost sickish.

"Hi there, where have the two of you been? Isn't anyone answering cells anymore?"

"We," Bella started hesitantly. "We went to see a movie."

"Oh I see. That's nice. Which movie did you watch?"

"Some corny thing," Alice said. "Bella picked it up."

"She likes watching that kind of stuff. Alice, if you are hungry, just order something. I don't feel like cooking tonight."

"I can feed myself." The girl snarled. "I'm in my room in case you need me."

Alice exchanged a quick look with Bella before she rushed up the stairs.

Wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead, Esme walked back inside the house.

"I told you the girl hates me. At least you are getting along with her. That's good."

Bella followed her friend into the spotless kitchen and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. It felt strange to her being here. Like she should instantly confess her relationship with Alice. Not tonight, she thought. I'm just not ready for that conversation.

"Do you want some wine? I bought some excellent one in Paris."

"Sure," Bella said.

Esme's hands were quivering. She looked awful. Was she sick?

"Sweetie, are you well?"

"Yes. I'm just tired from the flight."

She poured Bella a glass of wine and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"Aren't you going to have some yourself?" Bella asked, taking a second sip from her drink.

Esme pulled a box filled with breadsticks out and placed it on the table in front of Bella. "Try those. They are delicious."

She sat down next to Bella and started nibbling on one of the crunchy breadsticks. "To die for. Was the movie a good one?"

"It was okay. We ran into James and his new girlfriend at the theatre. That was awkward."

"Just ignore him. You know that you deserve way better."

Bella nodded her head. Her happiness had always been important to Esme. Still she felt way too chicken to tell her that she had started dating Alice. The age difference bugged her. It made everything more complicated.

"How does she look like?"

"Who?"

"The slut, who else? Is she skinny and blonde?"

"Ginger, her hair looks like fire, but the worst thing is that she's pregnant."

"Oh my god, sweetie, that's just horrible." Esme said, placing her hand gently on Bella's. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Something like that was to happen. James is moving on and so should I. It was just so…painful to see him with this pregnant chick. You know how everything that has to do with babies makes me uncomfortable."

Esme nodded her head. Then she poured a bit more wine into Bella's glass. Her own one was still completely untouched.

"Where is Carlisle? Didn't he come back with you?"

"He's still in Paris. I wasn't feeling well that's why I flew home earlier. At least you don't need to babysit Alice anymore now."

"She's not a child anymore. Maybe it would be better if you started treating her like an adult."

"The girl just hates me. She's mad because I'm back again. I saw it in the way she looked at me."

With a groan she stood up from her chair and barely managed to make it over to the sink before her stomach erupted in several weaves of bitter acid.

Bella jumped from her seat and pulled Esme's hair back. "You are sick. Maybe you got some nasty stomach flu."

"It's not stomach flu." Esme croaked. She rinsed her mouth and wiped her face with a towel. "It's…god, this is probably not a good moment to tell you about this."

"Tell me about what?" Bella asked while she guided Esme into the living room. There she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm pregnant."

Pregnant, the word echoed inside of Bella's head. She could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate and barely managed to calm down.

"I'm sorry. Bella, I'm really sorry."

"You're the only person in your situation that would apologize for it. I am happy for you. You're my friend."

"Thank you." Esme mumbled, leaning over to hug Bella. "We've been trying to get pregnant forever."

"I know. Maybe you should take a nice hot bath now. There is a bit of vomit in your hair that you need to wash out."

"Yes, I'll do that." she stated, slowly standing up again. When Bella heard the water running in the bathroom a few minutes later she made her way up the stairs.

"Hey," she greeted Alice, kneeling down next to her on her bed. "What are you doing?"

"Reading."

Bella cupped Alice's face in her hand and pulled her closer to kiss her mouth. She wanted to ask her to come with her. The thought of sleeping alone in her bed tonight was frightening for Bella.

"Where's Esme?"

"Bathroom. She's not feeling very well. You need to be a bit considerate."

"I'd liked it better if she had stayed in Paris with my father. Now, we won't see each other as often as we want to."


	30. Chapter 30

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Thanks to those of you who like my little story. Your interest in this project means tons to me.

****30****

Her bed felt unpleasantly cold to Alice without Bella's arms wrapped tightly around her. She tossed around between the sheets, unable to find sleep. Finally, when she noticed that the alarm clock on the nightstand was showing her that it was already past two a.m. she decided to stand up and go downstairs into the kitchen for a bite.

Maybe some hot chocolate would make her tired enough to fall asleep. She was just about to pour some marshmallows into the hot drink when she heard her stepmother's voice behind her.

"Why are you still up? Can't you sleep?" Esme asked her stepdaughter. She had promised her husband that she was trying to get along with the girl. But it didn't look like Alice was going to make it easy for her.

"Hmm," Alice mumbled lifting the mug to her mouth. "I can't sleep."

Esme nodded her head and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. The nausea was getting a bit better now. "I can't sleep either."

"Why? Bella said you aren't feeling well."

"It's better now. Well, it's probably better as long as I don't try to eat anything."

"Do you have some kind of stomach flu?" Alice asked while she continued to sip on her drink.

"I'm not sick. I'm pregnant."

"P-p-pregnant?" Alice stuttered spitting a bit of the hot chocolate on her white top. Her stepmother was going to have a baby? Had she told Bella about this? This was going to break her heart. Alice was sure about it. Anger spread through her. She didn't want Bella to feel miserable.

"Are you okay?" Esme asked worriedly. "You seem agitated. This is probably difficult for you, especially since you don't like me."

"Does Bella know?"

"That you don't like me?"

"No, I mean the baby thing."

"Of course she knows. She's my best friend."

"I hate you." Alice hissed, pouring the rest of her drink into the sink before she rushed off to her room, slamming the door behind her. She considered making her way over to Bella's place but that was probably a bad idea in the middle of the night. Was Bella still awake right now or had she cried herself to sleep? Alice's heart cramped at the thought.

A few minutes later her stepmother knocked on her door. Esme wasn't going let her husband's daughter act like a brat. Hadn't Bella told her that she needed to start treating Alice like an adult?

"Can I come in for a moment? I want to know why you are so angry at me. You aren't jealous of the baby, are you? That's ridiculous."

"I'm not j-j-jealous."

"But you act like it. Is this because your mother has told you some crap about me?"

"No." Alice whispered. "It's not like that."

Esme leaned against the doorframe and sighed. "Then I don't know what I've done wrong. Why don't you like me?"

Alice rubbed over the brown stain on her shirt. Why didn't she like her stepmother? She had never really tried to get to know Esme and now that she had fallen in love with her stepmother's best friend everything was going to get more complicated. Bella liked Esme. Maybe that meant that she wasn't as horrible as Alice's mother had always tried to make her seem.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. That was rude."

"It's okay. You got that temper from your father. He tends to get loud when he's agitated."

"Maybe the baby will have a temper too."

"I can handle that pretty fine." Esme stated. "Oh and Alice, you shouldn't rub around on that stain. It won't come out if you keep doing that."

"Do we have some stain remover here?"

"Yes, sure, you can give it to me. I'll take care of this."

"You don't have to do my laundry."

"It's not a big deal. I need to some washing anyway."

Alice sighed and pulled the top over her head. Why was Esme so nice to her? It made her feel bad for acting so rude towards her earlier.

She grabbed another shirt from her closet before she followed her stepmother downstairs again.

"How long have you known Bella?" she asked Esme, while she watched her pour some white powder on her ruined top.

"It's seems like forever to me. She's my best friend and one of the nicest people I've ever met."

"Don't you think that will be hard for her when you're going to have a baby? I mean because of Marissa and what happened with her."

"She told you about Marissa?" Esme asked in surprise. Her best friend usually avoided mentioning her dead daughter to anyone, even her. Why would she tell Alice about this?

"Her ex, this creeper was at her house when I was over. He wanted to get some of the baby's clothes."

Esme dropped the laundry basked from the machine. She had always, always disliked James Hunter but in this moment she was sure that she hated him with every fiber of her heart. Take away Marissa's clothes? For the kid he was going to have with this red-haired slut? What a bastard.

"I hope he doesn't dare to show his face around here anytime soon." Esme stated. "Crap, no wonder Bella was feeling so down. And then I have to break the pregnancy news to her. My timing really sucks."

"Maybe I should go over and check on her?" Alice suggested. "I don't want her to be alone when she's sad."

"Wow you really like her. That's cute. But it's not necessary to make a visit at her place in the middle of the night. Bella is stronger than you think. Maybe she's even stronger than she knows it herself."

"I know. That's why I like her so much. She's the strongest woman I've ever met in my life. She's beautiful and smart and everything I want to be."

Esme gigged. "God, Alice, you should see yourself. Your cheeks get all red when you talk about her. One could think that you have a crush on Bella or something like that."


	31. Chapter 31

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy. Thanks for taking the time to read my little story here.

****31****

Bella hadn't slept well that night and so she was already sipping on her third cup of coffee when Esme and Alice showed up at her doorstep.

"Good Morning," Esme greeted her with a wide smile. "We made some chocolate muffins and thought you'd like some of those too."

"Sure," Bella murmured. "That's really nice of you."

She exchanged a quick look with Alice. The girl hadn't told her stepmother about their secret relationship. Otherwise Esme wouldn't be in such an excellent mood this morning.

For a moment her fingertips brushed gently over Alice's when she took the basket with the muffins from her.

"I just made some coffee. Would you like some too?"

"Yes!" Esme called out. "I'm dying for some caffeine."

"No coffee for you. I'll make you tea. Do you want peppermint or chamomile?"

Esme laughed. "I'm not feeling sick anymore. Can I get some coffee now?"

Bella placed two cups in front of Alice and Esme before grabbing a muffin from the basket to nibble on it.

"Tea would be better for the baby."

"She's right about that."

"Are the two of you teaming up against me now? I'm just pregnant and not sick."

Bella squeezed Esme's hand. "I know, sugar. I'm just watching out for you because I care."

Alice leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. "How are you feeling, Bella? That m-m-must be hard for you that she's g-g-going to have a baby."

"In a way it is. But this is life. I'm trying to be happy for Esme and Carlisle. They've been trying for so long."

Esme nodded her head. Then she wrapped her arms around Bella and planted a kiss on her friend's cheek. "You have to promise me that you're going to be the baby's godmother. Will you do that? Oh, please say yes!"

Something cramped inside of Bella. All of this reminded her so painfully of Marissa that it was almost unbearable. She felt the need to bury her face against Alice's lap and cry. Yet, she knew it was impossible with Esme around. They needed to tell her. It would most likely make her change her opinion about the godmother thing…

The sound of the doorbell made Bella rise from her chair again. She wasn't expecting anyone. Her grinning ex-husband waved his hand at her when she opened the door.

"Good Morning, Isabella. Vicky and I are here to get the clothes for the baby."

"No! Get out of my house. There is no way the child of your slut is getting just one piece of Marissa's clothing."

Bella's voice cracked. Tears filled her eyes. How could James be so incredibly cruel to her? Maybe he was really blaming her for their daughter's death. It would explain his cruelty. She would never be able to forgive herself.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Esme snarled. She stepped behind Bella and wrapped her arm protectively over her shoulder. "Honey, please don't cry over him. He's just not worth it."

"Keep out of this, Mrs. Cullen. If it wasn't for your quack of a husband Marissa could probably still be alive. He should have known something was wrong with her."

"Stop blaming, my husband and get your ass out of Bella's house. You're making her all upset again. I won't have that."

"James, darling, maybe we should leave." The red-head whispered nervously. "Your ex-wife seems so agitated."

"Piss off!" Alice roared. "I already feel sorry for the poor kid she's going to have. It's going to have a father without a heart. Leave Bella alone for fucks sake!"

James chuckled and took a step backwards. "Your little girlfriend is protective. Vicky, let's go. The clothes weren't that pretty anyway."

Bella closed the door and sank down on the ground. A dry sob rocked through her body. James was such a bastard.

"I h-h-hate this man." Alice stated, kneeling down next to Bella's side. "I hate him for h-h-hurting y-y-you."

"Bella, why did James call Alice your girlfriend?" Esme asked, leaning back against the wall behind her. "How did he mean that? What is going on here?"

Bella sighed. This was going to get ugly and she didn't feel strong enough to handle this situation.

"We're together…kind of." She admitted eventually. Her voice trembling with every word she spoke.

"What kind of together do you mean? Like a couple? She's still a child!"

"I'm eighteen. I l-l-love Bella. She loves m-m-me. If you d-d-don't like that, it's your problem."

Alice cupped Bella's face between her hands and pressed her lips tenderly against Bella's. The truth was finally out and somehow that made her feel all light around her heart.

"This is crazy. Bella, I don't know what to say to this. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Bella wiped a bit of smeared mascara from underneath her eyes. "I love her. I didn't expect for this to happen. It just did."

Esme sat down on the edge of the stairs and sighed. The situation was weird. Bella was in love with her stepdaughter? How could she do something so unbelievably stupid? For a minute all kinds of rude reproaches rushed through Esme's head. But harsh words wouldn't lead to anything good here. Bella was still her best friend. She would never do anything to hurt someone. If anyone deserved any kind of happiness she could find it was Bella. Maybe that was all that really ought to count in this whole mess.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes," Bella whispered. "I'm very happy with Alice. She's good for me."

"You're good for me." Alice stated before she planted another kiss on Bella's mouth. "I love you so much."

"Carlisle is not going to like this one tiny bit." Esme sighed.

"I don't care what Dad thinks. I'm an adult and don't need his permission to date someone."

"Isn't the age difference bothering you, Alice? Maybe it would be easier for you to date someone who is closer to your own age."

"I don't really get along with people my own age. I like Bella. She's the only one I want to be with."


	32. Chapter 32

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to SM

[A/N] Thanks for being supportive of my little story. Without you I wouldn't be here.

On a side note; what's your opinion on Original Fiction? I'm asking because I feel like it's such a big step to do to move on from writing fan-fiction to creating your own characters. I don't do well with changes. They intimidate me somehow. Why would anyone want to read something from me that's not Bella and Alice anyway?

I'm sorry for rambling, but I've been thinking about these things for a very long time.

****32****

Bella's hands were trembling slightly when she parked her car in front of the library. Her discussion with Esme had exhausted her. It was difficult for her best friend to understand Bella's relationship with her stepdaughter. Bella had assured her over and over that she was serious about her feelings. In the end, Esme loved her and if Alice was who was able to make her happy again, she was willing to accept this.

With a deep sigh, Bella grabbed the rose from the passenger's seat and stepped out of the car.

Angela's plain face light up into a smile when she saw Bella walking towards her.

"Hi Bella,"

"Hello Angela. Is Alice here?"

"Upstairs. I can show you there. That's a pretty flower."

"Hmm,"

When they reached the second floor, they saw Alice on the top of a ladder, placing some books back into a shelf.

"Alice! You've got a visitor."

She turned around and almost lost her balance on the ladder. Alice stepped down and rushed towards Bella.

"Hey, sweet girl," Bella greeted her. "You're probably busy but I missed you and thought I step by before I head to work."

Bella wrapped her arms around Alice and kissed her lips very gently.

"You two are together?" Angela asked. Her voice was a strange mixture of surprise with a hint of jealousy.

"Y-y-yes," Alice stuttered. "It's o-o-official now."

"That it is, sweet girl. That it is. Angela, I don't think I can make it to our dinner. My girlfriend is a bit on the jealous side."

"We can still be friends. Can't we? Or doesn't she allow you to have friends?"

Alice shook her head. "Friends are important. I…We just don't want you to get false hopes. Bella is with me now."

"I get that. You're lucky, Alice. She's a great woman. I envy you."

"There are enough other fish out in the sea." Bella stated. "I'm sure you'll meet someone nice soon. You'd deserve that."

Angela's cheeks reddened. "Well, actually there is someone but it's complicated. She's very attractive and I'm not sure if she's into women at all."

Bella's lips twitched into a smile. "You'll never know unless you give it try. Ask her out. We could go on a double date, if you'd like that."

xxxx

This is the most awkward situation I've ever been in, Bella thought when she saw Angela and the pretty blonde woman behind her walking towards their table in the restaurant. Dr. Hale was Angela's date? Could it get more embarrassing?

"Bella, Alice. This is Rose. Isn't she like the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?" Angela's face turned into the brightest crimson. She still couldn't believe that Rose had agreed to go out with her. The odds were finally in her favor it seemed.

"Hello Bella." Rosalie said. "It's nice to meet you. Alice."

They ordered some fruity cocktails and sipped on them. Bella was getting terribly nervous. It made her feel awful that her therapist was here, judging and probably analyzing every word that came out of her mouth.

"I need to powder my nose," Angela stated. "Is one of you coming with me?"

"I," Alice mumbled, taking her clutch from the table. She leaned down to plant a kiss on Bella's cheek before she walked after Angela towards the restrooms.

"Wow, your little girlfriend is pretty smitten with you."

"Dr. Hale, this is embarrassing for me. I didn't know you're the woman Angela was going to invite as her date."

"My name is Rose. Dr. Hale is for work. Please, try to relax. What we discuss in my office is going to stay there."

"For real?"

"Yes, sure, there is no need to worry." she assured Bella, lifting her drink to her lips to sip on it. "The two of you are a cute couple actually. You seem happy together."

"I love Alice very much. She's such a caring person. I don't know why she likes me."

"That's easy. You're attractive and it's appealing to Alice that you have more experience."

"Shhh, they're coming back." Bella hissed through her teeth.

"Did you miss me?" Alice asked, placing her hand gently on top of Bella's.

"I always miss you. When you go back to Mississippi it will be horrible."

"Why don't you go with her?" Angela asked, letting her fingertip circle over the edge of her glass.

"I have a job here."

"Yes, the one you hate, if I remember correctly." Angela stated. "Your boss is a sicko who treats you like a slave."

"I can't just quit and move to another state without having a new job."

"You could sell your house. It would give you a bit more financial flexibility." Rose suggested. Her eyes moved over the tiny bit of exposed skin above Angela's cleavage. She was a sweet woman. Maybe a bit too shy for her personal liking but that wasn't something that she couldn't handle.

"I can't sell the house." Bella croaked. How could Dr. Hale, Rose, suggest such a thing. The house was her home. Marissa had spent the few weeks of her life there before her tragic death. The pain of the memory cramped inside her heart. It was time to let it go.

"Maybe I'll get into a college here in fall. That would be easier. Bella, it's just a few months. We can make that."

"I know." Bella whispered. "But I think it will be better if I move anyway. Edward and Jake are looking for a bigger place. They'd like the house."

The rest of the night went on more relaxed and Bella got a bit tipsy from the wine and cocktails she had been drinking.

It was a good thing that Alice wasn't allowed any alcohol. The girl wrapped her arm around Bella's waist and maneuvered her over to the parking lot.

"I'll drive."

"Am I drunk?"

"I'm not sure about that, but I don't want to risk you crashing against a tree or something. Now, put your seatbelt on like a good girl."

"You'd make a good Mommy one day." Bella giggled tiredly "You're so good at taking care of people."


	33. Chapter 33

[Disclaimer] Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] double update, for you; I hope you'll enjoy.

****33****

Carlisle Cullen was a calm man but when his wife told him about his daughter's love interest in their neighbor his face turned red with anger.

"I'm going to press charges against her. Is she out of her fucking mind?"

"Sit down, Carlisle, and stop yelling. You know I hate it when you do that."

He sighed and walked over to the fridge to pull the bottle with the bourbon out to pour a glass for himself. The alcohol would hopefully help him to relax his nerves a bit.

"Where is Alice anyway? It's past midnight."

"She's not a minor anymore and can go out as long as she wants to."

"None sense. This is my house. I want to know where she goes. Is she with Bella? I'm going to send the police after them."

"For what? I know that you don't like the idea of Alice being with Bella but what they do is nothing that's forbidden. Alice is eighteen. She's an adult."

"Adult." he snarled. "Adults don't tend to quit jobs after the first day."

"She has found another summer job all by herself. You need to calm down. That vein in your forehead looks as if it's going to burst any moment."

Carlisle gulped down his drink and poured a second glass. His baby girl was growing up. The thought made him feel old and extremely uncomfortable.

"You're right. But how can this relationship last? What's in five years? What's in ten years? The two of them are at completely different phases of life."

Esme stuffed a piece of buttered bread between her lips. Her sickness had turned into a permanent hunger. She was going to be fat until the baby would be born.

"So, you'd rather see her screwing around with some teenage boys instead? Bella loves her. You know how she is like with people she cares about. She'd do anything to make them happy."

"Yes, but…," he started hesitantly. There was no use in arguing with his wife. Esme was so terribly stubborn and unwilling to understand his point in this.

They could hear the engine of Bella's car in the driveway. Carlisle placed the glass on the kitchen counter and sighed. "There they are, finally."

"Carlisle, please don't make a scene in the middle of the night. Let's just go to bed we can talk about this tomorrow."

"No." he stated, rushing out of the kitchen. He wouldn't let his neighbor do god knows what kind of kinky stuff to his innocent daughter.

"Alice!" Carlisle called towards the women who were walking towards Bella's front door. "Mary Alice Cullen, come over here right now!"

They turned around and Bella felt the blood leaving her face. Esme had told him and it didn't look like he had taken the news too well.

"Hello Dad," Alice whispered. "How w-w-was your flight?"

"Come with me." he said, grabbing his daughter's arm. "We're going to discuss this at home."

"Let her go." Bella told him. "You are hurting her. I'm not going to let her go with you when you're all agitated like this."

"You will keep your hands from my daughter."

"Carlisle, come back inside." Esme said. She had followed her husband outside and was determined to eliminate the ugly scene that was about to escalate. "I told you we're going to talk about everything tomorrow, when you have calmed down."

"I don't want to calm down!"

There was a weird cracking noise and Bella barely managed to pull Esme aside before the rusty car crashed against the wall of Bella's house. Paint splintered, wood cracked and the loud sound of the honk made them jump apart.

The smoke that was coming out of the car's engine compartment alarmed them. Somehow Carlisle managed to pull open the door.

"Miss, are you alright?"

"Oh my god, oh my god." she groaned, trying to get out of the car. Her swollen midsection made it difficult for her to move though.

"Vicky?" Bella gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm so sorry. James and I had a fight. I just came here to apologize to you. Oh god, oh god. Now, I've smashed the car and damaged your house. I don't have money to pay for either one of them. Ouch! Oh god, this hurts so much. My back is killing me."

A gush of liquid trickled down the fabric of Vicky's skirt.

"How far apart are your contractions?" Carlisle asked, wrapping his hand around Vicky's wrist to check her pulse.

"I don't know. I want James! Please, call him. He needs to drive me to the hospital."

Carlisle shook his head. "Missy, you're not going to make it to the hospital in time. Your baby seems to be a bit impatient to be born."

The birth was fast and chaotic. They managed to bring Vicky inside and Bella rushed up the stairs to get towels from the bathroom. During the entire following twenty minutes Alice held Vicky's hand and wiped sweat from her forehead. But when the actual birth started the blood and screaming was too much for her to handle. She could feel a wave of nausea spreading through her.

With a loud groan Vicky pushed and pushed until her body went limp. A moment later the whimpering cry of the newborn filled the room.

"There we have her." Carlisle muttered. "Such a pretty girl,"

"Give her to me." Vicky pleaded. "I want to hold her. Oh, she's beautiful." She sighed with tears streaming down her freckled face. "I'm so…so glad she's okay. I was so worried."

"Give the baby to me, Carlisle." Esme demanded. "I'll clean her up. Why isn't the ambulance here yet?"

"They'll be here soon. Is the baby alright?" Bella asked, sitting down on the edge of the couch. The carpet in her living room was soiled with blood. But at least the baby was alive. Vicky was the luckiest person on earth. Bella envied her with all of her heart.

"You okay?" Alice whispered, leaning her head against Bella's shoulder. "This must be hard for you to see James' baby."

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Well…," he started. "I think there is something Vicky should probably tell him. Or would you rather have me talk to him about the situation?"

"What kind of situation?" Vicky croaked. "Is something wrong with the baby? Is she sick? Please, tell me she's alright."

"She's healthy but… she looks white now. It's not going to stay that way."


	34. Chapter 34

[Disclaimer] Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for your feedback. I always look forward to reading your reviews. I feel blessed to have such amazing readers by my side. You can help me find a name for Vicky's baby if you like to.

****34****

"I feel so bad for her." Alice said while she tried to comb through her curls with her fingertips. They were still a bit damp from the shower she and Bella had taken earlier. Outside it was already starting to dawn. They'd been up the night.

"You feel bad for Vicky because she cheated on James?"

"No, not for her," Alice murmured, leaning back against the pillows on the bed. She was so incredibly tired that she barely managed to keep her eyes open. "I feel bad for the baby."

"Why?"

"Because it was supposed to be loved and now James is all mad at Vicky and doesn't want anything to do with the child."

Bella sighed. Her head was throbbing with a painful migraine. "I don't want to defend him, but I get his point. We…he already lost one child. This is hard for him."

"He almost hit her. If Dad hadn't managed to hold him back—"

"James wouldn't have hit her. He's a jerk. He's even the most insensitive asshole on earth sometimes but he's not the type of guy to hit women."

Alice cuddled closer against Bella's chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her girlfriend's waist. "That was the craziest night of my life."

"I'm sorry you had to see all of this."

"It's okay. I'm just so worried about Dad. He was rude to you."

Bella pressed her lips against Alice's hair. "I'll try to talk to him again. Now, try to go to sleep. You need some rest."

A few hours later Bella knocked on the door to Carlisle's office in the hospital. She was nervous. Her palms were sweating and she could feel her heartbeat increasing when she stepped inside the room.

"Hello Carlisle." she greeted him in a nervous voice. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He looked up from the file in front of him. "I shouldn't be talking to you at all. What you have done is so wrong beyond words."

There was a sudden tightness in Bella's throat. She coughed, stumbling towards the metal chair across Carlisle's desk.

"I love Alice. This is not just some sex thing for me if that's what you're afraid of."

"She's eighteen! You're thirty-seven! Alice is young enough to be your daughter. You are the adult one in this and should act responsible."

Bella inhaled deeply through her teeth. Maybe he was right for hating her now. If she were in his place, she'd probably do the same.

"You can't control with whom you fall in love with. Alice, she's just the one for me. We didn't plan for this to happen."

Carlisle crumbled a sheet of paper on his desk in his fist and tossed it into the trash.

"I don't know if I can accept this relationship."

"Esme does support us."

"Esme is not Alice's mother." he stated. "My wife loves you. You're her best friend. I try to believe that something good will come out of this. I want my daughter to be happy. That's all I ever wanted for her."

xxxx

Life is a strange sometimes, Bella thought when she stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor. She walked towards the glass window and pressed her hand against the cold glass. There they were; half a dozen newborns in small hospital cradles. The boys wrapped in blue blankets and the only girl with a bright pink one. Her skin was already a bit darker now. Its shade was a light caramel tone against the blanket.

"Hey there, little angel," Bella whispered softly. "You owe me a new carpet."

There was a low chuckle behind her that made Bella turn around. Vicky looked horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"I don't think you get the money for your ruined furniture too soon. I'm broke."

"It's not that important. You can pay me back whenever you get the money together."

"That might take a while."

Vicky leaned her face against the glass and sighed. "James hates me. I screwed up so badly. How can one person be so horribly stupid?"

"Who's her father? I mean her real father. Maybe you should tell him?"

She snarled loudly. "Laurent is in Alaska now with his wife. She's some Russian fashion model."

"Does he know about the kid?"

"There is no need to fuck up another relationship."

The little girl behind the glass front started crying and the sound made Bella's heart cramp forcefully inside her chest.

"Maybe she's hungry. Are you breastfeeding her?"

"No," Vicky whispered. "The nurses have fed her some milk powder."

She opened a door at the side of the glass window and stepped inside to push the cradle out.

"Aren't you going to lift her up?" Bella asked while she watched how Vicky started to rock the cradle back and forth to silence the baby's crying.

"I can't. It will make everything more difficult if I hold her." She sniffed and stumbled backwards until she collapsed on a plastic chair that was standing at the other side of the wall. "God, this is hopeless."

"Please, don't cry. Everything will be alright."

"No, it won't. Now that James has left me I'll have to move back to my parents."

"That doesn't sound too bad to me. They can help you with the little one."

"I can't take her with me! My parents…they're no racists but…they would freak if they'd knew I had a child with a black guy."

She sobbed loudly and within a flash she rushed down the hospital floor, disappearing behind the door to the stairs.

The baby whimpered. For a moment Bella was too shocked to move but when another cry left the little girl's mouth something like an instinct took over her. She lifted the baby up and held it against her chest. This was the first time she was holding a baby after Marissa. The baby was bigger than her own daughter but it had the same scent of milk and something unnamable sweet like every baby.

"See, now you're not crying anymore. Such a good girl, aren't you? Your Mommy is a bit excited. She'll come around soon. How can someone not love such a pretty thing like you."


	35. Chapter 35

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Hugs to all my awesome readers, I heart you guys. Writing this project is so much fun because I have you by my side.

****35****

Bella leaned down to lift up the velvety rose petal from the ground. They were all over the floor and it took her a moment to realize that this was supposed to be some kind of trail leading up towards the stairs to her bedroom.

"Alice? Alice, are you up here?"

Pushing the door to her bedroom open, Bella's heart started racing in her chest. For there she was and she looked so incredibly beautiful to Bella. She was naked on the sheets, the candlelight drawing little shadows all over her delicate curves.

Their eyes met and Alice's cheeks turned pinkish. The girl still was shy after all. Would Bella even like her surprise? Maybe this had been a stupid idea.

"Aren't you supposed to be still working?" Bella breathed, sitting down next to Alice on the edge of the bed. "But I have to say I really like your little surprise. You're so beautiful."

"Kiss me." Alice pleaded. She fisted her hands into the bun in Bella's neck to free the tresses of soft chestnut hair. Alice mouth felt warm against Bella's. Their kisses started slowly. For the first time it felt like they had all the time in the world to explore each other. A whimper left Alice's throat when she felt Bella stroking down gently over the tips of her breasts.

"You're just perfect. I can't get enough of you, sweet girl." She hummed, circling her tongue tenderly around the swollen nipple before she closed her mouth around it.

"F-f-fuck," Alice moaned through her teeth. The beginning arousal was making her feel dizzy. It felt like magic to her how Bella knew exactly how to stimulate her body to cause the most sensations.

Alice fumbled with the buttons of Bella's blouse, pushing the silk material down the woman's shoulder. The rest of her clothing followed shortly after.

"Touch me." Bella whispered, wrapping her hand around Alice's fingers to guide them between her thighs. Alice gathered up a bit of Bella's wetness and moved her thumb over the sensitive nub above her girlfriend's entrance.

"Yes, oh fuck, just like this. Keep going. Oh fuck."

"I have to tell you something." Alice whispered into Bella's ear. "But you have to promise me you won't get mad if I tell you."

"Never," Bella groaned, pushing two of Alice's dainty fingers deep inside her. She was throbbing with lust, her insides hot and slick with excitement.

"I found your toys. You have so many of them and I want to test them with you."

The thought of exploring her toys with Alice aroused Bella so much that she climaxed a few moments later with a suppressed moan on her lips.

"You're crazy girl." Bella stated when she had managed to catch her breathe again. "It's not nice to sneak around in other people's nightstand. I will forgive you though because I love you."

Bella leaned over the edge of the bed and lifted the box with the sex toys up.

"So, I let you choose which one you want to try first."

Alice pulled out one of the vibrators and turned it on. "This one looks weird. Why is it shaped like this?"

"You'll find out, honey. You'll find out."

Bella kneeled down between Alice's thighs and caressed their insides for a few moments. Then she lowered her mouth to stimulate the girl's clit with her tongue while she carefully inserted just one finger inside her lover. Alice was still so incredibly tight. She needed to do this slowly to make it truly enjoyable and not too painful for Alice.

It didn't take long until Bella felt the tight walls around her fingers clenching with the beginning spasms of a climax. Alice protested when Bella pulled her hand from her sex.

"Don't s-s-stop. You can't stop n-n-now. P-p-please, oh, please."

Alice closed her eyes, her lips parted with soft moans and then she felt the head of the toy pressing against her opening.

"Look at me, sweet girl." Bella demanded. "Tell me if it hurts too much."

A low whimper left Alice's throat. The toy felt strange as it pressed its way inside her body. There was some unpleasant, tearing burn but it was not unbearable. This was not how any of her girlfriend's back home at described their first time. Alice was happy that she was experiencing this with Bella. She trusted her with her life.

Eventually the entire length of the vibrator was inside her, the buzzing of it against her inner walls driving Alice insane. Her climax was raw. It made Alice's eyes water with tears that streamed down her cheeks a heartbeat later.

"Are you hurt?" Bella asked her worriedly. "I wasn't too rough with you, was I?"

"No," Alice whispered. "This w-w-was just so…so intense. I don't think I can walk anytime soon."

"There is no need to leave this bed today."

"Sounds good to me," Alice murmured tiredly. "How was your conversation with my Dad? Was he rude to you again?"

"I can handle him. It's not like I don't understand his point. If my child would be dating someone that much older than her I don't think I would like that too much."

"But we belong together. I can't even imagine being with someone else than you."

Bella kissed Alice's bare shoulder and sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too. Did you see Vicky and the baby? I wanted to visit her tomorrow but I don't know if she would like that."

"Vicky is about to freak out. She says she doesn't want to keep the child. How can a woman not want to keep such a sweet little girl?"

"See, this just what I told you. It's not the baby's fault what happened but she's the one who is going to deal with all this crap. I feel so bad for her."

"I know. Can I tell you something weird? When I held the baby I was expecting to feel like really bad because it was going to remind me of Marissa."

"But it didn't?"

"A bit yes but…it was nice too, comforting even in a way. The little one is a doll."

"Do you want to keep her for yourself? I mean as a foster mother or something."

Bella shook her head. It wouldn't be right to take this baby. First she was still dealing with the loss of her own kid and secondly there was no way Alice was ready to have a child now. Maybe later, she thought. Maybe in a few years they could talk about having a baby together. Alice was young. It wasn't like her biological clock was ticking too loudly. As for Vicky's child, Bella already had an idea what she was planning to do about that…


	36. Chapter 36

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] My little story here is coming to an end. I had fun with this project and want to thank those of you, who decided to give this a try. Maybe I'll see you on one of my other Bellice stories in the future. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Your support means everything to me.

****36****

"Can you take another picture, Bella?" Edward asked her before he placed the camera in her hands. "Just one more,"

"Edward, I think it's enough now. How many pictures of bringing Nessie home with us do we need?" Jake stated.

"Nessie? What kind of stupid nickname is that supposed to be?" Edward asked him before he leaned down to caress the little girl's head with his fingertip.

"Daddy J thinks you're a little monster, princess."

"Smile guys." Bella commanded, taking several snapshots. This is right, she told herself. It felt right to her. At first Vicky hadn't liked Bella's suggestion about giving the baby to Edward and Jake. Two men raising a little kid; how was this supposed to work? In the end she had agreed to sign the adoption papers. Baby Vanessa had lost her mother and gained two overly caring fathers instead.

"Can we drop you off, Bells? Jake asked her. "We could show Ne- Vanessa where we are going to live in a few weeks."

Bella shook her head. "Alice is going to pick me up. You should try to get home before the baby wakes up and starts crying."

"Yes, we should do that." Edward mumbled. "Thank you for everything, Bella. We will never forget that."

"You're most welcome. Was Aro very angry when you quit your job? That must be difficult for him to lose two employees at the same time."

"He wasn't too pleased but I don't really care about that. I hated working for that asshole anyway."

"Don't say words like this when the baby can hear you." Jake criticized him. Then he hugged Bella and told her goodbye. She forced her lips into a brave smile and waved her hand at them when they drove off.

This is right, she reminded herself. This is the right decision. You're not ready to love another child.

"Hey, Bella, have I kept you waiting?" Alice greeted her breathlessly. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pressed her lips against Bella's collarbone.

"Did everything go okay?" she asked, hugging Bella tightly.

"Yes," Bella whispered. "I think so."

"You sound sad. Are you r-r-regretting that you didn't adopt the baby y-y-yourself? I know you've thought about it."

"It wouldn't be fair. I'm still…I can't imagine having a child now. My therapist says I still need to do a lot of work to handle Marissa's death."

Alice nodded. "I know. You can talk to me if you want to. I will always listen."

"You are cute. I'm glad to have you. Can we go home now? I'm a bit tired and we still need to do so much packing."

"Esme is going to help us tomorrow. That way we can get everything ready before the movers are coming."

During the last few weeks Alice and her stepmother had slowly started warming up towards each other. Carlisle still wasn't too thrilled about his daughter's relationship with his wife's best friend but they were quite sure he would get used to the thought over time. The two of them were good for each other. Anyone could see that.

Bella sat down on the passenger's seat of the car and sighed. "I don't like moving, but I look forward to living with you. It's going to be wonderful."

"It will be." Alice agreed. "I'm just a bit nervous about starting College and everything. What if I'm like really bad?"

"If pre-school teaching is not the right thing for you, we'll find something else."

She placed her hand on Alice's thigh and started drawing invisible hearts over the naked skin. So tempting, Bella thought. She's so fucking beautiful.

Back at her house, they tripped over the countless boxes that were standing around the living room.

"How much crap can one person have?" Bella muttered, packing some books into an empty box next to her. "This is a bottomless pit."

"You need a break. We can finish the rest tomorrow. Esme is good at sorting out stuff. There won't be enough room for all these things in our apartment."

Bella nodded in agreement. "There is one thing though I need to do. I need to get the stuff from Marissa's room."

Alice kneeled down next to Bella on the couch. "You don't have to do this. Esme and I can take care of everything. I know how difficult this is for you."

"Alice, I need to do this myself. She was my child."

It wasn't easy to get the door to Marissa's room open after it had stayed closed for over three years. There was the faint scent of dust in the air when Bella finally managed to open the door.

Her heart felt as if it was bleeding. This was going to kill her. She knew it was. Tears streamed down her face when she carefully folded the clothes into neat piles before she placed them in a box on the ground.

"Bella, honey, you don't h-h-have to do this. I c-c-can't endure s-s-seeing you so sad. Let me do it. Please."

"No. No one is touching her clothes apart from me. Can you just hold me for a minute? I need you to be here."

"I will always be there for you." Alice stated. She pulled out a tissue and held it gently over Bella's nose. "Blow like a good girl."

"You'll be great with handling kids. I know, you will."

Alice wiped the smeared mascara from under Bella's eyes and kissed the moist skin on her girlfriend's cheek.

"I love you. You are the bravest person I've met in my life."

"I love you too, sweet girl. I will always love you. You give me hope that life is going to be kind to me again. That's not something I expected to happen."

She kissed Alice's mouth and breathed in the sweet warmth that was radiating from the soft lips against her own.

"There is something we need to remember doing before Esme shows up here tomorrow morning." Alice told Bella between breathless kisses. "We need to hide the box with the sex toys somewhere. I don't want my stepmother to accidentally find it."


	37. Chapter 37

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] A nice person requested an epilogue for this story and I hope all of you are going to enjoy this. Thank you for taking the time to read my works. Without your support I wouldn't be here.

****Epilogue****

"How's your back doing?" Bella asked Alice when she killed the engine in front of Esme and Carlisle's house. "Are you tired from the flight? Maybe, you should lie down a bit before we have dinner."

Alice sighed and turned to her girlfriend. "I'm perfectly fine. Please, stop worrying so much about me. If you keep on asking me like every five minutes if I'm cold or tired or in pain the next five months are going to be awkward."

"I'm sorry." Bella whispered. She leaned over to touch her lips against Alice's mouth in a tender kiss. Then she placed her hand on the tiny, barely noticeable roundness on Alice's midsection.

"Am I overreacting?"

"You're just nervous. I'm nervous too, but more about how my father is going to take the news."

They stepped out of the car and a moment later a little curly-head on rollerblades bumped hard against Bella's left shin.

"Ouch!" she called out, rubbing her leg. This was going to bruise. "Try to be a bit more careful, young lady."

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to stop with my rollerblades."

"Nessie!" Edward called, rushing towards them. "Where's your helmet again? I told you not to— Oh, hi Bella. It's nice to see you and Alice again."

"Daddy, I don't to wear the stupid helmet. Daddy J never makes me put it on."

"I'll talk about it with him. But now, get that helmet and your kneepads or your done with skating today."

She frowned and slowly pulled herself along the wall towards the garage of Bella's former home.

He chuckled. "She's such a little pig-head. How are you girls doing? I've heard you finished your diploma, Alice. That's great."

Alice nodded her head and opened the trunk of the rental car. She was just about to lift the first of the two suitcases out when Bella stopped her.

"I'll handle this. They are too heavy for you."

"Bella," Alice started exasperated. "Please, stop doing this again."

"Are you girls fighting? Let me be a gentleman and carry your luggage. Wow, that's lot of stuff for a weekend. Or are you planning on staying longer?"

"That depends." Alice murmured, walking towards the front door. "That depends."

"Well, if that's not my best friend and my favorite stepdaughter." Esme greeted them when she opened the door. She hugged both of them tightly and looped her arm trough Bella's.

"Thank you, Edward. You can just bring the suitcases up to the guestroom upstairs."

"Where is Dad?" Alice asked following Bella and her stepmother inside the living room. "Is he still at the hospital?"

"He's promised to be home at dinner time. We'll see how that works out. Riley? Come down and say hi to Bella and your sister."

"Hello Alice! Did you bring me a present?" the brown-haired boy asked, sliding down the stair-rail.

"Maybe we brought you a present. We just need to find it again."

"I'll help you look for it." he suggested.

Alice laughed and kneeled down to plant a kiss on her half-brother's forehead. He frowned but kept still to endure her caress.

"Do you want some wine?" Esme asked. "I've saved the good one for your visit."

"I don't feel like wine today. But maybe Bella would like to have glass. It would help her to relax."

Esme walked over to the kitchen to get the wine. Alice sat down on the couch and cuddled against Bella's side. She was a bit tired but if she would acknowledge that Bella would start treating her like she was severely ill.

"Are you well?" Bella asked, stroking gently over Alice's hair. "I'm sorry. I know I ask too often."

Alice smiled mildly. "You're just doing that because you care."

"Are you hungry?" Esme asked, filling Bella's glass with the red wine. "If Carlisle isn't here in half an hour we'll eat without him. Maybe you'd like some cheese and olives as appetizers. I'll bring some of it."

She rushed off again and Bella leaned over to whisper into Alice's ear. "No soft cheese for you, okay?"

"You're starting to get on my nerves, Bella. I'm not telling you what to eat and the same goes for you when it comes to my food."

"Is something wrong? Are the two of you fighting or something?" Esme asked when she returned and placed the bowls with the cheese and the olives on the table in front of them.

"We're not fighting, are we, Alice?" Bella stated, placing her hand on Alice's knee.

"Right," Alice murmured, stuffing one of the olives into her mouth. After the first weeks of awful morning sickness that tended to last the entire day she was now almost constantly hungry. No cheese? What kind of stupid rule was this supposed to be? She took another olive and nibbled on it.

"Congratulations on your diploma. We should have come to your graduation but the little one got measles and we didn't want to leave him with a babysitter."

"That's okay. Thanks for the amazing present you sent me. The gold bracelet is lovely."

The front door squeaked and Riley jumped up to greet his father.

"Daddy! Daddy, Alice and Bella are here!"

"Hey," Carlisle greeted them, waving. He hugged Alice and planted a kiss on her hair. "Hello Bella. How's it going?"

"Not too bad. I love my new job as a lector. It's allowing me to work from home what I like."

"Good to hear you're doing so great. Now, Alice, what's up with you? You seem different somehow."

"Carlisle, that's just her new haircut. This pixie style looks good on you, Alice." Esme stated. "Now that you are home, we can eat. Don't you dare to answer your stupid pager when it goes on this weekend, I warn you."

He laughed and told Riley to help his mother set the table. The relationship between his daughter and Bella wasn't something he had been too fond of in the beginning. Over time though, he had started to get used to the thought. Alice was happy with Bella and if she was happy that made Carlisle happy in return.

"This looks fantastic." Alice stated when they sat down at the table a few minutes later. "I'm starving."

She filled her plate and moaned softly around the mashed potatoes in her mouth.

"Wow, you've developed a hearty appetite." Carlisle said. "Take the time to chew your food. There is more where that is coming from."

"I'm sorry." Alice muttered. "It's just that the food on the plane was so yucky that I didn't want to touch it."

"Plane food sucks." Carlisle agreed. "Now, tell me, what are you planning on doing with that teaching diploma of yours?"

"I thought m-m-maybe I'd like to t-t-take some time of."

"What for?"

Bella cleared her throat and took Alice's hand to squeeze it underneath the table.

"There is something we need to tell you." she said. "Alice, do you want to tell your father yourself?"

"Tell me what?"

"Bella and I, w-w-we are going to h-h-have a baby. I'm pregnant."

Carlisle choked on the piece of bread in his mouth. Pregnant? Of the many things he had expected this was definitely none of them. The perspective of becoming a grandfather made him feel awfully old.

"Say something, Dad. Please..," Alice pleaded. "Are you a-a-angry?"

He shook his head. "Just a bit surprised. I'm happy for you though."

"Alice is going to have a baby? Who's the Daddy?" Riley asked with huge eyes.

"He's some angel who was nice enough to help us out." Bella explained. She and Alice had been discussing forever whether it would be the right decision to use a donor from the sperm bank.

The rest of the evening went by quickly and when Alice yawned Bella instantly insisted that she needed to lie down and rest.

They went upstairs and with a sigh Alice kicked off her flats. Her feet felt like they were swollen.

"Lie down. I'm going to give you a foot rub. I know you like those."

"Yes," Alice whispered leaning back against the fluffy pillows. "And you're so incredibly good at them."

Bella smiled and started pressing her thumb against the heel of Alice's right foot.

"Your father reacted pretty good, right? I'm so glad about that."

"So am I. But Bella you really need to stop being so overprotective. It's suffocating me."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I want you and the baby to be safe. You are everything to me."

"You are everything to me." Alice whispered, pulling Bella's face close to hers. "Kiss me."

Bella closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Alice's warm lips against her own. When Alice started to unbutton her blouse she pulled back though.

"You're tired and should try to sleep."

"I'm not that tired. Don't you want me anymore? Am I unattractive because I'm pregnant?"

"You're sexy like always and of course, I want you. Doesn't it feel weird to you to have sex under your father's roof?"

"It has a bit of something naughty to it." Alice admitted. She quickly unfastened the buttons on Bella's blouse and pushed the silk down her shoulders. Bella was worrying too much. That needed to stop.

"I sleep way better after we make love. It relaxes me."

With a suppressed groan Alice pressed her face between Bella's breasts and swirled her tongue over the slightly salty tasting flesh. Bella whimpered when she felt Alice's hot mouth closing around a sensitive nipple.

"You are one greedy girl, aren't you?" Bella whispered. Carefully she flipped Alice over so that she was hovering above her. "Does my girl want me to help her to relax?"

Alice nodded and closed her eyes when Bella's tongue started drawing tiny circles down her abdomen. She felt how Bella pushed her panties down her thighs and a moment later Bella's mouth was against her bare sex. Around and around Bella moved her tongue until she felt Alice's inside tensing up with her release.

"Oh god, Bella…oh fuck."

"Quiet. We need to be quiet, sweet girl." Bella told Alice, kissing her way up Alice's upper body again.

"Shit. Do you think someone heard me?"

"I don't think so. They are out in the garden anyway."

"Good." Alice murmured. "That would be embarrassing if Esme or Dad caught us."

"I'm sure they know we're having sex. Anyway, are you feeling more relaxed now?"

"Yes. You are the one who has more trouble with relaxing. I'm not sick. The pregnancy hasn't transformed me into some breakable porcelain doll. I want you to treat me like always. I'm still me."

Bella wrapped the blanket around Alice and snuggled close against her from behind. She placed her hand under Alice's bellybutton and sighed. She knew that Alice as right and yet she wasn't. The woman in her arms had very little to do with the young girl she had fallen in love with head over heels five years ago. Alice was more confident now and way more stubborn.

She loved her even more today. She loved her because Alice believed in her in a way nobody else had ever done it. This baby had been Alice's idea and Bella was glad that she had agreed to have the child together. Life was good and Bella was willing to embrace all of it from now on.


End file.
